High-tech health institute to train hundreds launched

Last Updated on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, 21:30 by Writer

At least 250 youths from across the country would be trained over the next three years under a US$5 million project that formed part of Tuesday’s launch of the Guyana Digital Health Training Institute (GDHTI) to improve the quality of healthcare delivery in several areas, officials said.

“One of the vital roles that the students from this program would be helping us to fix is all these technical problems that the people at the hospital might be having so this is another program where we see them working more directly to improve the system that we have,” health minister Dr Frank Anthony said at the institute’s launch.

The New York-based Mount Sinai Health System would be supporting the training of the students and the project would be financed by the Greater Guyana Initiative, a GYD$20 billion fund set aside by ExxonMobil and Hess Corporation for sustainable development over 10 years.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), a 25% partner in the Stabroek Block and partner in the Greater Guyana Initiative, also contributed US$1.25 million to the project, a company official said on Tuesday.

Director of Mount Sinai’s Arnhold Institute for Global Health’s design and informatics initiatives, Dr Jeb Weisman explained that the GDHTI would create a digital health workforce to enhance patient care, improve patient engagement and conduct scientific research and innovation. He believed that the GDHTI would be a valuable resource to nurture and support future leaders, providing the tools, skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the digital field. “Our goals are to establish the Institute as an integral part of the Ministry of Health and to help build a robust skilled workforce of technicians, data scientists, trainers and support staff throughout the country; the very individuals will drive this digital transformation forward,” he said.

Executive Director of Mount Sinai’s Guyana Health Initiative Dr Rachel Vreeman said the GDHTI would shape the future of healthcare delivery for Guyana by empowering every healthcare provider and ensuring that every patient in every region of Guyana benefits from the highest quality modern healthcare services.

She said in its first three years, the Institute would train hundreds of professionals in user support health, data science and digital systems management. This creates new career pathways, and it establishes a long-term pipeline of expertise that’s rooted right here in Guyana. “This is a critical part of how Guyana will build a world class healthcare system. This is part of how every Guyanese person, will gain access to modern, high-quality services, and this is how Guyana will deliver the future of healthcare with innovation, skill and excellence at every level of the healthcare system,” she added.

President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge added that the GDHTI would lead the Caribbean in developing a digital “backbone” in the health sector. “And for Guyana, as we said, to lead the way in the Caribbean, if not more broadly, on bringing digital systems and data management to bear to improve health outcome,” he added.

Health minister Dr Frank Anthony said the GDHTI fits into the Guyana government’s broader plan to build a system of connected healthcare facilities that are patient-centered, equitable and data-driven.

He noted that at many of the ministry’s almost 450 health facilities, there is no connectivity because of electricity problems.

To work around that limitation, he said his ministry has been adding solar power and other energy systems. As a result, Dr Anthony said over the last two years, telemedicine was now being provided by 81 of those centers in regions 1 (Barima-Waini), 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), 8 (Potaro-Siparuni), 9 (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo and 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice).

Dr Anthony said by the first quarter of 2026, the health ministry would be adding another 50 sites as part of the plan to “expand our digital network that we have in and around the country.”