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Guyana advances in fight against NCDs – Public Health officials
Attendees of the one-day ‘Capacity building workshop for members of the Presidential Commission for NCDs Prevention and Control’ held at the Marriott Hotel on Wednesday
Guyana is winning the battle against chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which is still a “growing health crisis” in the Caribbean, Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence and PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow, said on Wednesday.
They made the observation while addressing a one-day ‘Capacity building workshop for members of the Presidential Commission for NCDs Prevention and Control’ held at the Marriott Hotel in the capital, under the auspices of the Public Health Ministry, PAHO/WHO, and the Health Caribbean Coalition (HCC).
The National Commission for the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases is the advisory body to Cabinet on NCD matters and risk factors, with responsibility for the oversight of the implementation of the 2013-2020 NCDs strategy. The local public and private sectors, international organisations and a number of other bodies comprise the Commission which is chaired by President David Granger.
When the Presidential Commission on NCDs was launched at the end of 2017, President Granger, who is its Chairman, challenged the nation to prioritise health and make lifetime-based interventions leading to reduction of the main modifiable risk factors for NCDs, namely tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and alcohol abuse.
In her keynote address on Wednesday, Minister Lawrence reminded the gathering of the effects.
“It is our people’s health and lives that are at stake. And if we are to counter the adverse effects on our people’s health and economic life, there is need to reach out to our communities and initiate the fight there against the chronic non-communicable diseases,” she told the audience.
Lawrence noted that the Caribbean continues to be “burdened by the prevalence of NCDs which account for 8 out of 10 deaths (80 per cent), and where 40 per cent of our deaths occur prematurely before the age of 70.
“This is a critical moment for the Region, as we witness the adverse health and economic effects of NCDs, and it is therefore imperative that at both the national and regional levels, we take bold, decisive and urgent action to reverse the trend and slow down the threat of the NCD epidemic” the Minister said.
Dr Adu-Krow, who outlined the local NCDs challenges, said in Guyana, nevertheless, a lot has been done in a short time, and the country is “winning the battle”.
According to the PAHO/WHO Representative, the Commission has seven functions: to coordinate development of policies, legislation and national mechanism (and to implement strategies and programmes to prevent NCDs; to advise the Prime Minister (PM) and Cabinet on existing gaps in prevention and control of NCDs, in the State sector, and to broker involvement of all relevant sectors in programme implementation.
The Commission is also expected to scale-up efforts undertaken by firms and other bodies to help promote health and prevent NCDs; to advocate and assist in mobilising resources for NCD implementation, prevention and control; spearhead partnerships with institutions of higher learning, locally, regionally and internationally and help monitor and evaluate “relevant research agenda” the document said.
It said the 20-odd member Commission is also expected to help assess the health impact of different sector policies, programmes and projects with a view to ensuring contradictions and duplications are avoided while their efforts are aligned with government policies.
Like other regional territories, Guyana also faces what Minister Lawrence called “a growing health crisis presented by chronic NCDs”.
The sole English-speaking South American Republic has been able to better manage infectious diseases, and as a consequence, the mortality rate is declining and “Guyanese are living longer,” the Commission document said.
With local longevity improving “the risk for and burden of chronic diseases also increase,” with heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes and cancers being the five leading killers,” the document further outlined.
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