Almost 60% of all deaths caused by chronic non-communicable diseases – Minister Ramsammy

Nov 12, 2010 News

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– Diabetes accounts for 10 percent

About 60 percent of all deaths in Guyana are caused by chronic non-communicable diseases, with diabetes accounting for approximately 10 percent.
This was the assertion of Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, during the feature address at the opening of an Occupational Health and Safety workshop, which is serving as a prelude to World Diabetes Day 2010.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Diabetes Day raises global awareness of diabetes – its escalating rates around the world and how to prevent the illness in most cases.
Started by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and WHO, World Diabetes Day is observed on November 14 to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, was instrumental in the discovery of insulin in 1922, a life-saving treatment for diabetes patients.
WHO estimates that more than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes. This number is likely to more than double by 2030 without intervention. Almost 80 percent of diabetes deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, WHO has revealed.
Minister Ramsammy highlighted yesterday that chronic diseases such as diabetes, are today ravaging the world, with Guyana alone having between 30,000 and 40,000 people living with the disease.
“For such a small country like ours that is a large number of people that are at risk for premature death and more significantly are at risk for various kinds of complications such as eye problems. People go blind because of diabetes…They are at risk for heart diseases and even kidney diseases as well, so this is not a minor problem.”
He noted that although Type Two diabetes dominates among adults, Type One is also present in Guyana, with 54 children (reported cases) currently living with its effect, and required to be on insulin on a daily basis. Nonetheless, the Minister noted that Guyana can take some pride in the fact that efforts are being made to identify all children with diabetes in an effort to provide assistance.
“Each of our children that are living with Type One diabetes, and who must be on insulin, are provided with NovoPen which is a simple mechanical device that assists them with taking their insulin.”
And it has been recognised by the local public health sector that although the fight against diseases such as HIV and AIDS is enjoying steady success, unless something is done about chronic non-communicable diseases, there still will be too many premature deaths as well as disabilities in the population.
For this reason, Minister Ramsammy said that Guyana has been vocal on the global stage in making its position known of the need to embrace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Plus. The MDG Plus was a call for the world to add chronic non-communicable diseases to the MDGs.
And it is through the Minister’s diligent efforts that come September next year there will be a global summit at the United Nations on chronic non-communicable diseases.
“What this means is that the world has finally recognised the impoverishing impact of the chronic non-communicable diseases on people’s lives, whether it is in developed countries or in developing countries.”
Moreover, 70 percent of all deaths globally are because of chronic non-communicable diseases, the Minister noted. It is his belief that Guyana has been able to
get the world to recognise that diabetes and other non-communicable diseases represent a major challenge in health and a real threat in the quest to eliminate poverty.
“This is at the very centre; at the very pillar of Guyana’s pursuit of a better life. It is at the centre of our pursuit to eliminate poverty. And unless we in Guyana are able to tackle the issue of chronic non-communicable diseases, unless we are able to deal with the problems of diabetes we will never win the fight against poverty….”
The chronic non-communicable diseases, Dr Ramsammy said, consume much of the resources that are directed towards health care.  A whopping $800M is expended on an annual basis by the Health Ministry to procure medicine for diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer and heart diseases. However, this has not prevented the Ministry from avoiding shortages of medication.
Dr Ramsammy recalled that it was just about 10 years ago that for more than 60 percent of the time, the public health sector was unable to provide people with their medicine. And though the situation has improved, he noted that there is still a gap.
“While it is not as frequent, about 10 percent of the time we still have situations of shortages.”
According to Dr Ramsammy, if the Ministry was to totally satisfy the demand for medicine for the chronic non-communicable diseases, more than a $1 Billion would be required. In the case of diabetes, the health sector had expended more than $300M on medicine alone, the Minister disclosed.
Though the observance of World Diabetes Day is a designated occasion, the local health sector usually engages in a month of planned activities.
Yesterday’s workshop, which saw participation from various professionals within the health sector, included a number of presentations, all intended to emphasise the importance of combating the prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases.

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