Maternal Health/HIV/AIDS
1. Shortage of Obstetricians
Problem: A major problem in Guyana with maternal health is that there is a shortage of trained obstetricians available for prenatal, labor, and after birth care. This creates issues in every stage of pregnancy and birth because, when there are complications at any point, there isn't anyone there to help diagnose and treat the patient. Many women have small complications that don't get addressed, which end up turning into something dangerous even though it was small at the beginning.
Cause: The shortage of trained obstetricians available for maternal care is mainly because, when a Guyanese person becomes an obstretrician, they don't necessarily stay in Guyana to practice. They can make more money and have better facilities if they leave the country and practice elsewhere. Not only are there physicians leaving the country, but they rarely come into Guyana to practice either.
Solution: A way this problem could be improved is by giving incentive to the obstetricians to stay in the country by improving the facilities and clinics they work in. This could be done by raising money through the Red Cross to obtain more supplies and better equipment for the clinics. This could be done over a period of 5 years to see how effective it is at keeping obstetricians in the country. This could be measured by comparing the amoung of trained obstetricians practicing in Guyana over the 5 years. Short term goals are to improve facilities and equipment and the long term goal is to get more obstetricians to stay and practice in Guyana. Potential problems with this plan is that, despite the improved facilities, physicians will continue to seek to practice outside Guyana in order to be paid higher wages for their work.
2. Lack of HIV/AIDS Education
Problem: A big problem in Guyana, and the Caribbean in general, is the lack of communication amoung the general population about the effects and prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The use of condoms and the convincing of people to reduce their number of partners is also a major problem in Guyana.
Cause: A major reason why the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is not well know is because governments do not want it to get out and affect their tourist income. Also, a lot of tourists participate in commercial sex during their stay in the Caribbean, which produces a lot of money for these countries. Because of the lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, many people do not use condoms and because of the income it creates, people do not reduce their number of partners.
Solution: A way this problem could be solved is by raising funds through the Red Cross or getting the funds from the UN to provide easily accessible and affordable condoms. Also, these funds could be used as a way to provide education about HIV/AIDS to many people in Guyana. The timeline for this could be 10 years to secure the funds, distribute the supplies, teach about HIV/AIDS, and measure the results of the next generation. This could be measured by comparing the amount of people using condoms over the 10 years and the percentage of people educated about HIV/AIDS. Short-term goals are to supply Guyana with affordable condoms and to educate the rising generation about HIV/AIDS. Long term goals are to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Guyana. Potential problems for this solution are that people won't care about using condoms and that with the use of condoms, the number of partners will just increase with the hope of extra "safety".
Problem: A major problem in Guyana with maternal health is that there is a shortage of trained obstetricians available for prenatal, labor, and after birth care. This creates issues in every stage of pregnancy and birth because, when there are complications at any point, there isn't anyone there to help diagnose and treat the patient. Many women have small complications that don't get addressed, which end up turning into something dangerous even though it was small at the beginning.
Cause: The shortage of trained obstetricians available for maternal care is mainly because, when a Guyanese person becomes an obstretrician, they don't necessarily stay in Guyana to practice. They can make more money and have better facilities if they leave the country and practice elsewhere. Not only are there physicians leaving the country, but they rarely come into Guyana to practice either.
Solution: A way this problem could be improved is by giving incentive to the obstetricians to stay in the country by improving the facilities and clinics they work in. This could be done by raising money through the Red Cross to obtain more supplies and better equipment for the clinics. This could be done over a period of 5 years to see how effective it is at keeping obstetricians in the country. This could be measured by comparing the amoung of trained obstetricians practicing in Guyana over the 5 years. Short term goals are to improve facilities and equipment and the long term goal is to get more obstetricians to stay and practice in Guyana. Potential problems with this plan is that, despite the improved facilities, physicians will continue to seek to practice outside Guyana in order to be paid higher wages for their work.
2. Lack of HIV/AIDS Education
Problem: A big problem in Guyana, and the Caribbean in general, is the lack of communication amoung the general population about the effects and prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The use of condoms and the convincing of people to reduce their number of partners is also a major problem in Guyana.
Cause: A major reason why the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is not well know is because governments do not want it to get out and affect their tourist income. Also, a lot of tourists participate in commercial sex during their stay in the Caribbean, which produces a lot of money for these countries. Because of the lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, many people do not use condoms and because of the income it creates, people do not reduce their number of partners.
Solution: A way this problem could be solved is by raising funds through the Red Cross or getting the funds from the UN to provide easily accessible and affordable condoms. Also, these funds could be used as a way to provide education about HIV/AIDS to many people in Guyana. The timeline for this could be 10 years to secure the funds, distribute the supplies, teach about HIV/AIDS, and measure the results of the next generation. This could be measured by comparing the amount of people using condoms over the 10 years and the percentage of people educated about HIV/AIDS. Short-term goals are to supply Guyana with affordable condoms and to educate the rising generation about HIV/AIDS. Long term goals are to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Guyana. Potential problems for this solution are that people won't care about using condoms and that with the use of condoms, the number of partners will just increase with the hope of extra "safety".