UNDP Guyana

Goal 8 : A Global Partnership for Development

This Millennium Development Goal is arguably the most critical element in the overall structure of the MDGs. Its overarching emphasis on developing global partnerships was born out of the recognition that for countries like Guyana to sustainably achieve the rest of the goals, an international environment which is conducive to their attainment must be sought and sustained.

Targets to be met under this goal reflect commitments made by member states to strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade, official development assistance, external debt, and access to medicines and technology.

Well-functioning trading and financial systems can yield enormous economic and developmental benefits for Guyana, which would support the achievement of the Goals. This section highlights that the creation of, and participation in, such trading and financial systems cannot be achieved by country efforts alone, but are also dependent on the negotiation and execution of successful global partnerships.

The unique development challenges faced by Guyana are its special needs as a small state, its vulnerability to external shocks, its underdeveloped resource base and heightened exposure to global environmental challenges.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) has shown an overall increase in volume over the past five years. Total foreign assistance to Guyana at the end of 2009 was US$173 million, which represents an increase of 19 percent from the 2004 level of US$145 million.

Guyana has moved from being a heavily indebted poor country to one that has achieved debt sustainability. Its debt profile has improved from having a stock of external debt worth approximately US$2.1 billion in 1992 to half that amount, at US$0.9 billion at the end of 2009. Debt service payments as a percentage of Government revenue have also declined from 59 percent (approximately US$130.1 million in 1998) to 3.8 percent (approximately US$17.7 million) in 2009.
These improvements have expanded the fiscal space available to the Government to carry out social and other investments towards the MDGs. The country remains at moderate risk of debt distress and is vulnerable to external shocks. In view of this, Government is very proactive in maintaining long-term debt sustainability.

A number of measures have been put in place to improve the population’s access to essential drugs: namely, the updating of the official list of essential drugs and the strengthening of the pharmaceutical supply chain, including improvements in the management of the Government’s drugs warehouse. There are a number of areas earmarked for improvement, including the estimation and evaluation of drug needs, the storage and transportation of drugs and monitoring of usage at health facilities across the country.

The benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication, have become more widespread in Guyana. Between 1990 and 2009, landline telephone access increased by over 630 percent, moving from 3 landlines per 100 population in 1990 to 19 landlines per 100 of the population in 2009. Incorporating the element of shared household access to a telephone line, approximately 86 percent of households had access to a landline telephone service in 2009.
The use of cellular phones has rapidly increased as well, at an average annual growth rate of 54.7 percent since the introduction of this technology to the market in 2005. In 2009, there were 76 such subscriptions per 100 of the population. The number of internet subscribers has increased over the years and bandwidth capacity in the country has recently had a major boost in the form of a new fibre optic cable being commissioned.  These technological advances have opened many opportunities for growth and underscore Government’s role in effectively managing a growing sector, expanding affordable access to all groups and empowering the population to take advantage of the new services available.

See below for target(s) and indicators.

Table 1: MDG targets and indicators