The United Nations in Guyana

Launch of the SDGs arch.
Photo: © UN Guyana

In Guyana, the United Nations System works with a range of partners to deliver the UN Caribbean Multi-country Sustainable Development Framework (MSDF), initiated in 2017 and due to end in 2021. The work of UN Agencies, Funds, and Programmes active in Guyana (the UN Country Team) is guided by four pillars: 1. An Inclusive, Prosperous, and Equitable Guyana; 2. A Safe, Cohesive, and Just Guyana; 3. A Healthy Guyana; and 4. A Sustainable and Resilient Guyana. Across the four pillars, the UN works with national institutions and stakeholders to leave no one behind and promote gender equality.

The UN Country Team works together to ensure the delivery of tangible results in support of Guyana’s development agenda. Guyana published its Voluntary National Review of progress against the SDGs in 2019. The country has an SDG Global rank of 104 out of 156. The UN System has helped Guyana achieve a number of development milestones since 2017. 

 

Milestones

1

A Healthy Guyana: new tobacco legislation was passed to prevent the incidence of non-communicable diseases. Guyana has diagnosed over 90 percent of its citizens living with HIV, the only Caribbean country to have met this UNAIDS’ 90/90/90 target. Suicide rates were reduced by 35 percent following several interventions. In March 2020, Guyana introduced an emergency health response plan, bolstering health systems for both COVID and non-COVID conditions.

2

A Safe, Cohesive and Just Guyana: Guyana passed a juvenile justice bill, introduced the country’s first children’s court, opened three new specialized sexual offences courts and a dedicated family court, produced a Code of Conduct for Prosecutors, and developed standard procedures for investigating human trafficking and prosecuting its perpetrators.

3

A Sustainable and Resilient Guyana: long-term national development plans consistent with the 5 Ps of the SDGs have been elaborated, enabling Guyana to chart its own 2030 Agenda pathway. Guyana’s first Voluntary National Review (VNR) was completed in 2019, demonstrating the country’s progress towards the SDGs to date.

4

An Inclusive, Prosperous and Equitable Guyana: with UN support, the country has registered and provided healthcare, education and other humanitarian assistance to more than 10,000 migrants from Venezuela in partnership with host communities.

5

A Healthy Guyana: the proportion of births delivered by adolescent girls has been reduced by 20 percent, partly as a result of a range of family planning programmes and improved access to reproductive health information services. A National Policy for the Reintegration of Adolescent Mothers into the Formal School System has been developed and implemented.

6

An Inclusive, Prosperous and Equitable Guyana: Guyana has taken steps to include indigenous peoples, youth and women in sustainable community development. Over 154 communities have been supported for the purposes of improved food security, expanded part time and full-time employment opportunities, better access to lower cost goods and services and income generation opportunities.

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The Sustainable Development Goals in Guyana

The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth's environment, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. Kindly note that the data visualizations show an aggregate of the Caribbean. To view the disaggregated data for Guyana, please select it from the dropdown menu.