Guyana: Social services, including healthcare, available to the elderly in Guyana

In response to an inquiry on the social services, including healthcare, that are available to the elderly, the Office of the High Commissioner for Guyana provided a written response on 24 November 1998:

1.Basic health care in Guyana is free at the Public hospitals (run by the Government) at strategic points throughout the country.

Basic surgery is also free though patients may be asked to provide tools and dressings. Since Guyana is a third world country and as such would not have the funds for a comprehensive health care system as the one in Canada, individuals are responsible for the cost of their prescriptions.

The cost for residence in a home for the aged varies from home to home and MAY DEPEND ON THE FINANCIAL status of the person and/or relatives involved in his or her care. On the whole our social structure is based on the extended family where the elderly are an integral part of the family. Only the very wealthy who try to imitate North American and European norms even think of placing their elderly in homes. Or perhaps who live abroad and leave their old relatives at home.

There is only one home that is free. It is called The Palms and is for the poor old folks who have no relative to care for them. It is almost always at capacity. At present it is being renovated and as a result, only one wing is available for use.

2.The entire work force pays into the National Insurance Scheme. Contributions are deducted from wages and salaries the same as is done with income tax. Premiums are computed on a weekly basis.

The self employed also are required to register into the programme and ensure that their premiums are paid regularly.

3.The minimum number of contributions for receiving old age pension is 150 and the rate of benefits paid depends on the number of contributions made into the funds as well as the category of the worker.

Old age pension is paid from age 65, at which time a person is also eligible for the Government old age pension.

Sickness benefits commence after 50 contributions. This is only for short-term ailments causing temporary absence from work. Disability benefits cover longer term illnesses.

These all cease at age 65 when the pension comes into effect.

Of course, people would have personal insurance policies covering a variety of items which the NIS may or may not have covered....

Persons who were not registered with the NIS, or did not have the requisite number of premiums to qualify for a pension from this agency, will only have their government pension and personal savings. They would most likely have to depend on relatives for help and support.

According to a document of the Guyana government (accessed at the Website Guyana News and Information, created and maintained by Safraz W. Ishmael, a Guyanese graduate student at the Graduate School of Physics of the University of Maryland):

The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is really an old age pension scheme with medical and sickness benefits. It was never intended to be a comprehensive health insurance scheme. Currently, the NIS offers sickness, medical and maternal care-roughly a quarter of its benefits. The longer term benefits include funeral, survivor, old age pensions and permanent disability-70 % of all benefits. Industrial benefits cover injury, disablement and death- 4 % of all benefits. ... In 1993, the annual minimum pension of G$22,568 was less than one-half the absolute poverty line and two thirds the critical poverty line. The distribution of benefits by welfare groups show that the wealthy (the III-V quintiles) received more than 70 percent of all benefits. (n.d.)

The Consular Officer elaborated on the government old age pension in a 25 November 1998 telephone interview. Any Guyanese citizen over the age of 65 and living in Guyana can apply for it. Once the application is received the person will receive what the Consular Officer referred to as "a basic living allowance." She said that those persons entitled to pension benefits under the NIS can be living anywhere in the world.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Guyana High Commission. 26 November 1998. Telephone interview with Consular Officer.

_____. 24 November 1998. Letter from High Commission.

Ministry of Health, Guyana. n.d. "Report on Reform of the Health Sector and Monitoring of the Sectoral Reform Processes in Guyana." [Internet] [Accessed 9 Nov. 1998].