Despite weaknesses, Gesy a success minister tells diaspora

The government’s vision for Gesy “is the creation of a new culture where beneficiaries and providers will protect it, for it is property of the Republic’s citizens and a valuable legacy for future generations”, Health Minister Popi Kanari has told diaspora Cypriots.

Kanari was speaking at the World Conference of Diaspora Cypriots in Nicosia, and said the “increased demands of citizens, the ageing population, continuous development through new technologies, and climate change create important challenges for the health ministry”.

She said these challenges should be met with efficient management, within the framework of the country’s economic capabilities, and that the needs of the health system were highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

She told the audience that the creation of Gesy put an end to the negative headlines faced by the country as the only EU member state without a national health system.

She went on to describe Gesy as a “strong, innovative and efficient health service provision network, which is constantly improving and evolving”, and added that a total of 943,978 beneficiaries have been registered.

Despite its success, she said, “weakness and problems have been identified which must be addressed and properly managed”.

In the context of managing these problems, she said President Nikos Christodoulides has set priorities of upgrading the quality of services provided, dealing with abuses of the system, and creating long-term safeguards for the system to remain economically viable.

To this end, she said “we place particular emphasis on the further enrichment of Gesy and, by extension, the increase in expenses, so that they remain in line with the growth rate of the economy”.

She said independent studies show Gesy to be economically viable for the period forecasted until 2030.

In addition, she told the diaspora Cypriots that Gesy is open to all returning expatriates, and that “in case at some point you choose to repatriate yourselves, the homeland will always await you with appreciation and gratitude”.