Govt. directs keen attention to fighting NCDs – Minister Cummings

Nov 04, 2016 News

Government, through the Ministry of Public Health, has put in place a number of strategic initiatives to prevent and treat Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). These initiatives will effectively address the future burden of disease, promote

Minister Karen Cummings addresses the health fair.

healthy lifestyles, and increase the potential benefit of a healthier population, thus contributing to economic development.
This was the disclosure of Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, when she attended a recent health fair in Victoria, East Coast Demerara.
The fair was planned and organized by the Victoria Reconstruction Trust with support from the Public Health Ministry.
According to the Minister, by adopting policies that promote healthy eating and discouraging unhealthy activities such as smoking, the Ministry will have a better chance at helping to reshape the social consciousness of NCDs.
“Robust health promotion activities by the Ministry will ensure that the key messages of healthy living will resonate with the population and have a positive impact on their lives,” underscored Minister Cummings as she emphasized that “one major contribution to a significant amount of NCDs is smoking.”
Statistics show that tobacco accounts for around six million deaths every year, including from the effects of exposure to second-hand smoke, and is projected to increase to eight million by 2030.
It is for this reason, she reminded, that “very soon the Ministry of Public Health will be piloting stringent tobacco legislation in Parliament aimed at significantly reducing the use of tobacco in Guyana.”
This legislation, she underscored, is a lifesaving one that will certainly preserve the lives of many Guyanese in years to come.
The Minister added that the key risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes include obesity, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diets. These require interventions to change these unhealthy lifestyles.

Residents of Victoria listen intently to Minister Cummings.

According to Minister Cummings, “These changes we recognize are most likely to occur with implementation of a coordinated range of interventions to encourage individuals to maintain a healthy weight, participate in daily physical activity, and consume a healthy diet.”
A healthy diet, she assured, replaces saturated and trans fat with unsaturated fat; increases consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; and limits sodium intake and excessive calories from any source, but especially from sugar-based beverages.
Moreover, Dr. Cummings insisted that behavioural changes that are necessary to realize the health and wellness of a nation must be rooted and grounded in education. “We at the Ministry of Public Health are cognizant that education is key to implementing such changes, which are more effective when provided through multiple methods and sites, such as schools, workplaces, mass media, and health centres.
Educational messages, we believe, are also more effective when they are reinforced by positive and suitably appropriate action,” the Minister asserted.
NCDs are of long duration and generally slow progression. The four main types of such diseases are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma), and diabetes.
According to the World Health Organisation, there are a number of modifiable health risk factors that are attributed to the presence and prevalence of NCDs. These are tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and the harmful use of alcohol. These factors all increase the risk of NCDs.
About 3.2 million deaths annually can be attributed to insufficient physical activity alone and more than half of the 3.3 million annual deaths from harmful drinking are linked to NCDs.
In 2010, 1.7 million annual deaths from cardiovascular causes have been attributed to excess salt/sodium intake, Minister Cummings shared.
“The four risk factors or behavioural patterns mentioned earlier lead to four key metabolic/physiological changes that increase the risk of NCDs. These changes are raised blood pressure, overweight/obesity, hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels), and hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood),” Minister Cummings disclosed.
In terms of attributable deaths, she revealed that the leading metabolic risk factor globally is elevated blood pressure to which 18 percent of global deaths are attributed, followed by overweight and obesity and raised blood glucose.
“It is important to note that NCDs carry a huge cost,” said Minister Cummings. She said, “Currently, about 70 percent of the Ministry of Public Health’s budget is spent on NCDs.”
She highlighted that NCDs carry a burdensome cost on families and caregivers who are tasked with caring for persons suffering from NCDs.
“It is imperative that we develop healthy lifestyle choices and practices early so as to avoid falling prey to NCDs.”