Over 70 percent of deaths in Guyana caused by non-communicable diseases

Sep 18, 2019 News

– Health Minister seeks more aggressive campaign to tackle challenge

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) cause over 70 percent of all deaths in Guyana.

Minister Volda Lawrence

In the wake of these alarming statistics, Minister of Public Health, Ms. Volda Lawrence, is setting an aggressive plan to tackle NCDs, which are placing a burden on the public health sector.
NCDs or chronic diseases are diseases of long duration which generally progress slowly. The four main types are cardiovascular diseases [heart attacks and stroke], cancer, chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma, and diabetes.
Minister Lawrence said that over the past decade the fight has intensified against NCDs. But “sadly, too many of our citizens are affected by diabetes, cancers, heart diseases and chronic respiratory diseases.”
This state of affairs, she disclosed, warrants the Ministry redoubling its efforts. This, she said, would warrant a more aggressive campaign to impact on the cross-cutting, modifiable risk factors associated with the NCDs.
According to her, interventions relating to the abuse of alcohol, the harmful use of tobacco and its products, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity have become top priority in order to reduce these risk factors which, cumulatively and separately, are deterrents to healthy lives and general well-being.
But interventions of this nature must be introduced among youths to have a long term impact.As such, Minister Lawrence said that her Ministry has “recognised the need to educate our children from an early age about the importance of maintaining healthy bodies and minds.”
For this reason, she said that the Ministry of Public Health, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, has initiated health promotion programmes focusing on sensitising students about the need to eat healthy. This, she outlined, will require lessening the sugary substances in their meals; increasing the intake of water, and encouraging their parents and guardians to prepare balanced meals.
This will complement government’s school feeding programme, said the Minister as she pointed out that “Of course, the curriculum places much emphasis on physical well-being, ensuring that students are engaged in physical exercise as well as a variety of sports and games.”
“We believe that this awareness message of healthy bodies and minds can be disseminated from within the school environment to the parents and guardians within the various communities. Our youths must help spread the message of adopting healthy lifestyles to their immediate family to bring about desirable health outcomes for our population,” she added.
But Minister Lawrence noted that the elderly must also be targeted, as she observed that they tend to be affected by NCDs as they age.
“Therefore, it is imperative that we intensify the message, encouraging them to engage in healthy lifestyle practices in order to prevent their chances of developing NCDs. Their wellbeing must be encouraged in this cycle of ageing, so the conversation must focus on developing healthy behaviours which will include regular exercise, healthy eating habits, regular health check-ups, proper use of medication and the overarching issues of tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption,” Minister Lawrence noted.
Even as she stressed the need for overall wellness, the Minister made it clear “we cannot divorce mental well-being. In fact, this constitutes one of the key areas of our health; we must promote the mental well-being of all where we can learn, work, play and listen to each other. In other words, as we speak about well-being, we cannot forget mental health; there is no balanced health without mental health.”
The Minister’s remarks were premised on this past weekend’s observance of Caribbean Wellness Day, which is observed every year on September 14.
This year, the observance was held under the theme: ‘Healthy Ageing Starts Now’ which saw countries across the Region focusing on heightening awareness and implementing health promotion activities to improve the quality of life of the ageing population.
Caribbean Wellness Day [CWD], which was termed a ‘wellness revolution’, was initiated by CARICOM with the aim of heightening the awareness of NCDs and accelerating the action needed to prevent and control them. Caribbean Wellness Day falls within the ambit of the Declaration of Port of Spain, which, in 2007, sought unity from member states to stop the epidemic of chronic NCDs.
As she spoke recently about the impact of NCDs, Minister Lawrence said “Too many individuals are closeted through fear of stigma and we must first and foremost encourage persons to access the treatment they need to lead healthy productive lives. We must help our patients build coping skills to understand and manage mental health issues.”
Embracing this approach is imperative said the Minister as she added “We must endeavor to enhance our quality of life so that in later years we can reap the benefits of today’s sacrifices.”