– with an average of 6,000 deaths a year, NCDs the top cause of deaths in Guyana
NON-COMMUNICABLE diseases were not  given the attention  needed over the years, with the world’s health professionals focusing on issues such as HIV/AIDs, malaria and other public health scourges.
But this class of diseases has risen on the global agenda after recognition of the burden it places on health sectors.
The annual Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Meeting in Geneva that started yesterday was held under the theme ‘Non-Communicable Diseases – A Priority for the Commonwealth’.
At the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the ‘Statement on Commonwealth Action to combat Non-Communicable Diseases was adopted. The statement acknowledged the epidemic of NCDs to be a serious threat to global health and sustainable development. This provided a rationale for discussing the steps that the Commonwealth Secretariat can take to lead on this issue and influence the global agenda.
To this end, the Commonwealth Secretariat developed the Road Map on NCDs which was accepted by ministers of health at their annual meeting in Geneva on May 16, 2010.
At this meeting, Commonwealth Ministers of Health unanimously agreed that NCDs should be adopted as the theme for the CHMM 2011.
Yesterday’s meeting sought to provide countries with an opportunity to examine the burden of NCDs in the Commonwealth, and the challenges and opportunities that members face. It will discuss the outcomes of the implementation of the Commonwealth Secretariat Road Map on NCDs, whilst identifying elements for possible contribution to the debate at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2011.
In addition, the CHMM will provide an opportunity for the secretariat to acquire policy and technical direction for existing and proposed work on both health Millennium Development Goals and NCDs.
The chair of the meeting is the Hon Prof A F M Ruhal Haque, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Bangladesh.

GUYANA SITUATION

In an interview earlier this year, Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy made it clear that these chronic non-communicable diseases are largely lifestyle problems, which can be reversed with healthier practices – hence the increased focus on increasing physical activity started in 2010.
Ramsammy and his ministry advocate five simple steps for healthier lives: eat healthy, control portions, be active, check health, and be happy.
A staggering two of three deaths occurring in persons younger than 70, result from a chronic disease.
Chronic non-communicable diseases today cause major suffering and costs for individuals, families, governments, and businesses. The NCDs have a disproportionate impact on the poor, further exacerbating health inequities.
The health minister pointed out that in Barbados, chronic non-communicable diseases account for over 80 per cent of deaths, in Trinidad and Tobago it is over 75 per cent, and in Guyana it is 71 per cent.
“We have about 6,000 deaths each year, and chronic non-communicable diseases are the top cause of deaths, followed by things like suicide and accidents,” Ramsammy said.
He added that Guyana has also advanced the call for NCDs to be included in the Millennium Development Goals Plus.
Ramsammy stressed that reducing the risks of chronic non-communicable diseases will reduce the increasing financial demands and impact positively on Guyana’s development.
“We can’t prevent it, but we can take control,” Ramsammy posited.

WARNING

Yesterday, World Health Professions Association (WHPA) issued a statement, which warned that the global epidemic of NCDs had become a significant threat to human health and development, and unless urgently addressed, the burden of NCDs would continue its dramatic increase.
In launching a new campaign, the WHPA, representing more than 26 million health professionals in 130 countries, declared that non-communicable diseases should be viewed in a holistic way as a combined threat to global health.
In a joint statement, the global leaders of nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, dentists and physicians, said what is needed is a single strategy to prevent and manage non-communicable diseases.
NCDs – including cardiovascular disease, some cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, mental disorders and oral disease – accounted for more than 60 percent of global deaths, killing 36 million people in 2008, many prematurely.