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$Unique_ID{COW01553}
$Pretitle{282}
$Title{Guyana
Chapter 8. Living Conditions}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{William B. Mitchell}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{houses
east
guyana
health
food
indian
family
housing
percent
major}
$Date{1969}
$Log{}
Country: Guyana
Book: Guyana, A Country Study
Author: William B. Mitchell
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date: 1969
Chapter 8. Living Conditions
The level of living is uniform throughout Guyana. Although there are some
relatively wealthy individuals, there are few of the gaping class
discrepancies that characterize other societies in South America. For many
years the country was not even a healthy place to live, but it now enjoys the
lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America, and life expectancy is
approaching the level of the more developed world. Protein malnutrition
probably is the most serious food problem and it remains a serious threat to
new generations of the rapidly growing population. Adequate housing also is a
major national problem and the entire system of water supply and sewage
disposal needs to be vigorously upgraded.
These problems are shared equally by a very large portion of the
population. East Indians and Africans drink the same water, make purchases
from the same limited stocks of consumer goods, and sit on the same kinds
of furniture in the same kinds of houses. The two groups could hardly be more
different, however, in the ways they choose to spend their money and plan for
future events. The egalitarian poverty level of the African and his efforts to
"live well" by spending his earnings immediately contrast sharply with the
social and economic competition of the East Indian's life and his urgent need
to plan carefully for an expensive future.
HEALTH
Mortality and Morbidity
The current infant mortality rate for Guyana is 39.8 per thousand live
births. This is considerably below the average infant mortality rate for Latin
America (66 per thousand) and is a vast improvement over the rate of 141 per
thousand only 30 years ago. Life expectancy now is 59 years for men and 63
years for women, about average for Latin America. The causes of the lower
infant mortality rate are not yet clearly known; some authorities credit
extensive anti-malaria campaigns, but others believe these can account for
less than half of the improved rate.
Although the infant mortality rate has been lowered, diseases of infancy,
gastroenteritis, and colitis still account for the largest proportion of
recorded deaths. Other major causes of death are pneumonia, senility, and
hypertension.
Diseases
Whooping cough, meningococcal infections, and measles are prevalent.
Malaria is being brought under control and Guyana aims to eliminate the
disease within its borders. A 30,000 square mile area in the northwest has
been free from malaria for several years due to the use of salt treated with
chloroquinine. Medicated salt also is being used successfully along the border
with Brazil. The heavily populated coastlands were free from the
malaria-carrying mosquito, Aedes aegypti, for several years until they were
reinfested in 1962. A joint campaign mounted by the Pan American Sanitary
Bureau and the World Health Organization, however, appears to be succeeding in
its efforts to control the mosquito.
Tuberculosis also is gradually being brought under control with less than
200 new cases per year being reported in the mid-1960s. Paralytic
poliomyelitis first appeared in 1957 and as many as 311 cases were reported in
1963. But by the middle of 1963 about 90 percent of the children in Guyana had
taken Sabin oral vaccine. The prevalence rate for leprosy is 1.9 per 1000
population; the total number of registered cases at the end of 1964 was 1207.
Leprosy cases are discovered at skin clinics in all health centers and through
annual surveys of school children. Other important communicable diseases are
dysentery and typhoid fever.
Sanitary Conditions
The spread of many infectious diseases is facilitated by the extensive
irrigation networks in the inhabited coastlands. About one family in seven has
sewage treatment facilities, and only one in ten has an individual
installation.
About half the population gets its water from public standpipes or
through pipes to individual houses.
This water is supplied from artesian wells, but the government recognizes
that pumping will become necessary as consumption increases with the growing
population. The 1966 Development Programme provides that the central
government will outlay the initial capital in the form of loans, but operating
costs in the future will have to be met by local authorities. Since many
villages have no local government, this requirement is contingent in turn on
the success of the local government reform program (see ch. 13, The
Governmental System). In sugar estate communities potable water is supplied by
the sugar industry and does not pose a serious problem. The industry also
maintains the drainage systems in these communities.
Folk Medicine
Death and disease are sometimes attributed to "old hag," a general
Guyanese term for male or female witches. It is believed that a witch can fly
from its body and suck the blood of its victim. The belief serves to explain
affliction and death and does not interfere directly with medical care.
Help from witch-doctors, or Obeah men, is sometimes sought, however, to
reinforce medical care. Although "Obeah" is an African term, its meaning has
been extended to include East Indian magical practitioners. In fact most Obeah
men in Guyana today are East Indians. Obeah practices range from preparing
magical potions to advising solutions for family disputes. Obeah activities
are illegal, and they often are prosecuted, but the belief in their
effectiveness is widespread in nearly all segments of Guyanese society. About
six percent of the average family's expenses is used for medical needs: patent
medicines and drugs, operations, injections, eye glasses and false teeth.
About a third of both rural and urban families make their own "bush medicine"
for colds, fever, and as a beverage.
Health Services and Programs
The Minister of Health and Housing has responsibility for the health
services of Guyana. There is also a Central Board of Health presided over by
the top medical officials in the Ministry. The Board is the constituted
authority for all health matters. The Ministry's functions are directed
primarily toward environmental sanitation, health nursing, and health
education. With the assistance of UNICEF and WHO, the Ministry has initiated
an integrated health service program. The objectives of the program are to
reorganize the structure of health services and extend them at both regional
and local levels; to integrate both preventive and curative services; to train
health personnel and improve facilities for communicable disease control,
environmental sanitation, statistical services and health education. The 1966
Development Plan calls for the expenditure of G$13.7 million to implement
these objectives.
In 1967 there were 147 medical centers of various kinds including rural
maternal and child health units. In addition there were 24 public or private
general hospitals and 12 "cottage" and "sugar estate" hospitals. Other
facilities included a tuberculosis unit, a leprosarium, a psychiatric
hospital, and various mobile health units. On an overall basis, these
facilities provide the equivalent of 5.9 beds per 1000 population.
Just prior to independence, there were 233 doctors registered in Guyana.
This provided a doctor/population ratio of about one to 2600. There were also
two dentists, 228 midwives, 144 nurses, and a number of sanitary officers and
medical technicians.
FOOD, CLOTHING, HOUSING
Food
The basic diet in Guyana is composed of starchy foods such as rice and
potatoes. Fish is the major source of protein. Imported salt-fish or sa