GEORGETOWN, GUYANA 28-OCTOBER 2024—The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with PAHO/WHO, assessed the HEARTS Initiative in Guyana. Dr Anselm Hennis, Director of Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health, PAHO/WHO and additional expert, visited Guyana from 21 to 25 October 2024.
The team lead a mission that, together with MoH, is currently assessing the implementation and the potential for scale-up of the HEARTS Initiative. The team visited 10 health posts and health Centers in three coastal administrative regions of the country. The team also visited the Materials Management Unit, the MoH unit in charge of the logistics, storage, and distribution of medicines at more than 360 health facilities comprising Guyana's first level of care. Interviews were conducted with the Chief Medical Officer, the Director of Chronic Diseases and Mental Health at MoH, and other relevant officers at the central and regional levels.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which include conditions such as heart attacks, stroke, and heart failure, are the leading cause of death in the Americas. An estimated 2.0 million people died from CVDs in 2017. Of these deaths, 30% occurred in people 70 years and under. In Guyana, these diseases comprise at least 70 per cent of the disease burden.
In 2021, the Ministry of Health committed to reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases by adopting the Global HEARTS Initiative. The HEARTS technical package provides a strategic approach to improving cardiovascular health, promoting the adoption of global best practices in the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and improving the performance of primary health care services through better control of high blood pressure.
In the meeting with the Minister of Health, Honorable Dr. Frank Anthony, Dr. Anselm Hennis stated that the mission's purpose was to review the operationalization of the HEARTS program, document and understand barriers, identify factors to strengthen its implementation, and identify lessons learned to improve the initiative's expansion nationwide. A key objective is to identify the conditions to extend the scope of the program so that Guyana can gradually implement the PAHO’s Better Care Initiative for the management of NCDs in primary healthcare.
It was noted that scaling up the implementation of the HEARTS Initiative in Guyana through the implementation of evidence-based clinical protocols and other cost-effective interventions will significantly reduce the number of premature CVD deaths, have a positive impact on the attributable burden of these diseases and move towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
PAHO/WHO will continue to support the Ministry of Health to expand the HEARTS initiative to better manage NCDs across regions.
