Dialysis patients double in Guyana as diabetes drives kidney failure

World Kidney Day 2026: "a silent killer"

At a Ministry of Health conference in Georgetown on 11 March 2026, World Kidney Day, officials said the number of patients on dialysis in Guyana has doubled since 2020. According to HGP Nightly News, approximately 650 people were enrolled in the government's dialysis beneficiary system as of December 2025, and the state provides $600,000 a year in support per dialysis patient¹. New dialysis chairs are being activated in six new regional hospitals, and 15 new dialysis machines have been placed in regional hubs¹. Dr Lachmie Lall, director of the Chronic Disease Unit, warned that by the time kidney disease reaches its later stages, "it is already too late"¹.

Diabetes behind the numbers

Two days later the Department of Public Information reported that around 20,000 people have diabetes and about the same number have hypertension in the public system, many with both². Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said poorly managed diabetes and hypertension "would affect the kidneys", and that the Ministry has "also seen a lot of people we can classify as pre-diabetic", where early work could "delay the onset of diabetes"². The Ministry has created a dedicated Chronic Diseases Department, is rolling out national treatment guidelines developed with Mount Sinai across about 450 health facilities, and will hold discussions with rehabilitation, internal medicine and surgical departments about rising diabetes-related amputations².

Population data point the same way. A nationally representative 2020 study of 805 adults measured diabetes prevalence at 18.1 %, 21.4 % in women and 15.1 % in men, rising to 24.1 % among rural women³. When Guyana introduced national HbA1c testing, more than a third of people aged 30–70 who were tested had an HbA1c above 9 % (75 mmol/mol), with no improvement over five years⁴. A review of diabetic foot disease noted major lower-limb amputations at the country's main public referral hospital⁵, and cardiovascular disease causes an estimated 526 deaths per 100,000 people a year⁶.

What the kidney trial evidence shows

For physicians, the newest evidence comes from the GLP-1 class. In the FLOW trial, 3,533 people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease were randomized to semaglutide or placebo. A first major kidney disease event (kidney failure, at least a 50 % reduction in eGFR from baseline, or death from kidney-related or cardiovascular causes) occurred in 331 versus 410 participants, a 24 % lower risk (hazard ratio 0.76; 95 % CI 0.66–0.88)⁷. Serious adverse events were reported in fewer semaglutide than placebo patients (49.6 % vs 53.8 %)⁷. In SELECT, semaglutide also cut major cardiovascular events by 20 % (hazard ratio 0.80) in people with overweight or obesity and cardiovascular disease but no diabetes⁸. WHO's December 2025 guideline adds that, without deliberate policies, GLP-1 access "could exacerbate existing health disparities"¹².

Access and the supply question

This is where the kidney data meet the market. In April 2026, according to HGP Nightly News, President Irfaan Ali said off-label cosmetic use of tirzepatide (Mounjaro) is straining supply chains and medical oversight, and signaled stricter prescription-only enforcement so that people who need it for diabetes are not priced out or left short¹⁰. In March 2026 the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) made the same point regionally: aesthetic use without a medical indication may divert resources from patients with clear medical needs⁹. In May 2026 the Health Minister said one of the companies manufacturing Ozempic (semaglutide) had applied for registration in Guyana, that its dossier was being processed by the Food and Drug department, and that it will require a prescription¹¹. The 2026 national budget allocates $161.1 billion to health, including new hospitals and an expansion of telemedicine to 50 more remote communities¹³.