NPS parliamentarian and physician Jeffrey Lau is cautiously positive about the healthcare plans announced by President Jennifer Simons in her annual address for 2027. According to him, however, a clear overview of the total financing and concrete targets against which improvements in healthcare can be measured are lacking.
In an interview with Radio ABC, Lau calls the planned strengthening of healthcare infrastructure a positive development. He points, among other things, to the announced investment of SRD 750 million in the Academisch Ziekenhuis Paramaribo (AZP). The funds are intended to improve, among other things, intensive care units, neonatal intensive care and operating theatres.
The planned introduction of a central service point for diabetes care and the strengthening of the medicines supply also have his support. According to Lau, however, the individual measures still provide insufficient insight into the total healthcare budget.
“So no amount has yet been allocated to healthcare,” the parliamentarian says about the absence of that overall financial picture.
Lau states that Suriname has spent approximately 4 to 6 percent of gross domestic product on healthcare in recent years. He cites 8 to 9 percent as an international benchmark and advocates a substantial increase in the available resources. “If we really want good healthcare, then we must have at least double the amount,” Lau said.
In addition to financing, he calls for attention to concrete performance indicators. According to him, these should make it possible to determine whether investments actually lead to better care. He also wants more clarity about the financial sustainability of the Staatsziekenfonds (State Health Insurance Fund; SZF). According to Lau, considerable resources are put into the fund, but there is insufficient insight into how the sustainability of the system is safeguarded.
The physician and parliamentarian further stresses that prevention must be given a greater place in health policy. Healthy nutrition and reducing excessive sugar consumption are, according to him, important components of the approach to preventing conditions such as diabetes.
Lau expects the government to provide further details during the budget debate in De Nationale Assemblée (Suriname’s parliament) on the total resources for healthcare, the financial choices and the results it aims to achieve with its plans.
