In support of the transition towards modern teaching styles, UNESCO (with the MoE, Blackboard, and the University of the West Indies) qualified 50 “Master Trainers” to expand the use of online teaching content, and online assessment and monitoring of student learning.

UNICEF also helped 700 teachers learn how to use online education resources, and distributed 1,000 laptop computers (with internet access) for students.

In step with the global commitment to ensure that no-one is left behind from Agenda 2030, UN Agencies worked with relevant bodies to integrate vulnerable children in the education system. Through the joint EU/UN Spotlight Initiative, UNICEF trained 38 School Welfare Officers who identified children who had been unable to complete the secondary school entrance exams.

In remote, hinterland regions of the country, some migrants and refugees are not native English-speakers, making it hard for them to assimilate and learn in schools. To address this, in 2021 UNHCR partnered with the Pan American Development Foundation to qualify some 34 instructors in providing online English as a Second Language (ESL) lessons to students. This work resulted in 378 Venezuelan children and returning Guyanese children receiving ESL tuition. In addition, 235 Warao and Spanish-speaking children from different indigenous communities and not enrolled in schools were registered in the community-based ESL classes.

In addition, and in collaboration with the MoE, UNHCR developed an information leaflet for non-English-speakers about enrolment in public schools.

All told, the work of the UN’s Agencies helped ensure that a remarkable 170,000 children enrolled in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools continued to learn through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aided by PAHO/WHO and UNICEF, Guyana received more than 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines to protect people against infection.

UNOPS used Japanese government funds to buy four ultrasound scanners, four Toyota Landcruiser ambulances, and multiple pulse oximeters, used to help 9,000 people during the pandemic.

In support of national authorities, UN Agencies analysed GBV services in Regions, 1, 4, 6 and 7 as part of plans to upgrade Guyana’s standard package of essential GBV assistance.

UNFPA worked with MHSSS to identify and map the various service providers who play a role in responding to GBV. The mapping enabled the development and release of the iMatter app, an online portal that provides critical information to survivors on GBV services and referral pathways. The app is linked to the national 914 GBV hotline service. In 2021, UNFPA increased the call-handling capacity of this hotline through the provision of additional telecoms equipment.

In 2021 FAO helped national authorities set up the country's first National Climate Precipitation Grid. The grid provides more accurate weather and climate forecasting for at least 10,000 men and women in the agriculture and fishing sectors, including early warning of flooding and drought events.

FAO expanded the network with the deployment of new specialist data collection systems and software to 1,500 locations across the country. The software provides accurate, up-to-date assessments of rainfall, temperatures, dry and wet spells, and rates of water evaporation loss from land surfaces.

FAO also worked closely with the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) on introducing new technologies to help optimize agricultural production, and improve quality control. The agency trained 17 GRDB extension officers to use CSPro, a system that collects, records and processes data on crop yields. FAO also supplied 30 tablets and a server to the GRDB.

Together, the training, software and hardware combined to enable near real-time monitoring and quality control of 160 tonnes of rice produced by 6,000 rice farmers.

In 2021, WFP and the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MHSSS) worked together to deliver cash transfers to 9,218 people (2,561 households).
The transfers, provided with support from the Canadian Government, were delivered via Guyana’s Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN), and were part of post-COVID recovery efforts deliberately aimed at redressing imbalances in economic opportunities for women. In delivering this project, WFP worked closely with national authorities on data management to enhance social transfer targeting and payment reconciliation capabilities. Specifically, this meant building a targeting survey and vulnerability scoring system with MHSSS and deploying a digital system to quickly match intended beneficiaries with actual recipients.

The UN provided essential reception and support services for migrants, refugees and Guyanese returnees. These services included shelter, health, counselling, food and non-food items, GBV referrals, education services, and COVID-19 vaccinations.

UNHCR helped 13,374 refugees, migrants and returnees (and people in the communities hosting them) in 2021. In regions 1, 2, 4 and 7, this included the distribution of food hampers benefiting 4,124 persons; baby kits used by the mothers of 724 infants; 500 mosquito nets; 200 jerry cans, 5,000 cloth face masks, and 500 sleeping mats.

In Regions 1, 2, 4 and 7, UNHCR helped supply and distribute food hampers to 4,124 persons. Mothers and 724 infants benefited from special ‘baby kits’, and a further 1,606 people received hygiene kits.

Exceptional multipurpose cash interventions were also provided to help 568 persons of concern.

UNHCR accompanied 3,415 persons of concern to use immigration, legal, and health services, and interpretation services for Spanish-speakers. UNHCR also provided emergency shelter for 67 people.

In 2021, with funding from the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF), UNDP helped survey more than 1,100 square miles of land in Regions 2, 7, and 9 ready for titling (i.e. transfer of ownership) to indigenous groups.

The land titling work completed by UNDP in 2021 alone will improve the livelihoods of 11,141 people in the medium-term.

In 2021, UNEP helped the Guyana Bureau of Statistics and Environmental Protection Agency assess Guyana’s environmental statistics value chain. In a series of technical training sessions delivered to 20 technical professionals, UNEP introduced new international standards to the relevant authorities, promoting inter-agency data exchange.

In 2021, the UN supported Guyana on implementing its National Malaria Programme (NMP). Malaria remains a major public health concern, particularly among miners. By training 85 miners, loggers, and shopkeepers in 32 locations across Region 1, PAHO/WHO and IOM helped deploy the ‘Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests and Treatment Project’. This project ultimately tested 1,034 people for malaria, with 346 people testing positive and treated for the disease.

UNAIDS made available the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication to 10 people: the treatment significantly reduces the risk of contracting HIV through sex.

2021 saw some of the worst flooding in Guyana for 15 years. UN women, with Guyana’s National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), supported the response through the provision of seeds and additional support to 1,300 farmers, the majority of them women.

IFAD supported the participation of local civil society, the private sector, and indigenous communities in decision-making discussions on the allocation and use of national budget resources in Region 9.

To help national authorities prepare for climate-related disasters when they do occur, UN Agencies worked with counterparts on disaster preparedness plans.

UNDRR and the Office of the Prime Minister issued Guyana’s new National Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, which itself supports the revised Low Carbon Development Strategy.