ON Friday last, in light of the upcoming World Consumer Rights Day under the theme: “Helping Consumers Choose Healthy Diets,” the Government of Guyana has committed to having a healthy and happy population while urging consumers to eat healthily.World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) will be observed on March 15 and the local Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) has organised a series of events reflective of this year’s theme. Among the string of planned activities, the commission held a World Consumer Rights Day seminar at the Guyana International Conference Centre.

The event featured several presentations from the CCAC, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, the Government Analyst- Food and Drug Department and the Ministry of Health, with all placing heavy emphasis on the benefits of healthy eating and consumers’ choices.

While addressing the gathering, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism,Industry and Commerce, Derrick Cummings, urged all Guyanese to become familiar with the regulations contained in the Consumer Protection Legislation and to recognise that the law is already having an impact.
While he explained that all efforts are geared towards ensuring that the Guyanese populace remains healthy, Cummings urged those gathered to adopt the prescriptions and diets which lead to healthy lifestyles.
Activities planned for the 2015 observance included radio and television programmes, a “cook for change competition” and the just concluded seminar and mini exhibition.
Given that poor diets account for more than 11 million deaths annually, Consumer International, the regulatory organisation in charge of consumer affairs globally, has selected to highlight the benefits of healthy eating during this year’s observance of World Consumer Rights Day, (WCRD).
The global entity reported that diet-related diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular illnesses and diabetes are rapidly rising in developing economies. This, the body underlined, has resulted in the death of more than eight million people before their 6th birthday, many in low and middle-income countries.
The WCRD was first celebrated in 1983 and became an important annual occasion for mobilising citizen action and solidarity within the international consumer movement. The day is an opportunity for promoting the basic rights of all consumers, demanding that those rights are respected and protected and protesting the market abuses and social injustice which undermine them.
At the conclusion of Friday’s event, several participants won prizes, compliments of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Survival Supermarket and Nigel’s Supermarket.