More to be done to tackle NCDs – PAHO Representative

Aug 02, 2014 News

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The threat of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) has long been recognised as a challenge to not only the local health sector but to those across the globe as well. Moreover, fervent measures have been implemented to tackle this health challenge which has been claiming the lives of many.
As part of a global move to combat the health challenge, Governments of the world, in 2011, gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to plot the way forward with regard to combating the threat of NCDs. Moreover, the countries represented, including Guyana, all signed unto an agreement which specified that “we are going to do something about NCDs.”

This agreement, according to Pan American Health Organisation’s (PAHO), Dr. William Adu Krow, also detailed that the countries signing the agreement would, in 2014, announce to the world what measures each had taken to address NCDs.  “…The last time I checked we are in 2014 but we haven’t done much,” said Dr. Adu Krow, who however, noted that “some things have been done but we have a very long way to go.”
Among the NCDs threat, according to him, are: cardiovascular diseases including diabetes, cancers, and chronic lung diseases; the risk factors associated with tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.  The threat, he noted, can also extend to Mental Health, Gender-Based Violence, Disability and Rehabilitation and even Road Safety.
Alluding specifically to the four risk factors, Dr. Adu Krow emphasised that persons must recognise that the impact of these are in fact modifiable since they can be curbed.
But while the need to address the abuse of alcohol and use of tobacco have been gaining increased attention the world over, the PAHO Representative pointed out that the importance of a healthy diet cannot be understated.
And addressing this, he noted, can start simply by persons carefully monitoring both their salt and sugar intake. “The salt that Guyanese take on average is two times what the body needs. Why are we taking so much salt?” questioned Dr. Adu Krow, as he lamented over the fact that “it is said that Guyanese take all the sugar that is made for the country and it constitutes about 47 per cent…I think that we should do something about it.”
In turning his attention to physical inactivity, the PAHO Representative noted that from all indications, far too many people in Guyana are embracing sedentary lifestyles.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, had told this publication that as part of local efforts to combat NCDs, Government through the Ministry of Health is well on its way to implementing an “health in all policies” strategy.
This tactic, according to him, is intended to be a national approach to addressing the challenge. He pointed out too, that although the availability to health care is a human right, it is not merely about delivering medical care, although it forms a great part of the function of health care workers.
According to Dr. Persaud, there is currently keen movement towards universal access to all health care services that can be available at reasonable cost to the population. In this regard, he disclosed that the Ministry of Health has chosen the platform of primary health care to achieve this objective.
However, although some of the common measures in the Ministry’s strategy are in fact directed towards treating potential health complications, a lot of them are however geared towards prevention. “I think that an important point that we should now underscore as we move forward, is that we don’t neglect to recognise that prevention is very important, even for people who have diseases.”
With prevention in focus, he amplified that persons can be educated with a view to ensuring that they adopt practices that can help save their lives.
As such, Dr. Persaud emphasised that capacity building, training, as well as resourcing and tooling strategic services are critical measures.
Moreover, he highlighted that over the past 10 years there has been rapid developments at health facilities across the country.
“We have a brand new hospital at Lethem, one at Linden, another one at Mabaruma (where) surgeries are done. We need to probably utilise them more adequately,” Dr. Persaud observed, as he noted that the local health sector will continue to make strides to improve the service delivered which will cater to combating NCDs.
According to the World Health Organisation, NCDs are known to kill more than 36 million people annually, with nearly 80 per cent of these deaths occurring in low and middle income countries.

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