EDITORIAL: Health is wealth

Reports are that chronic non-communicable diseases now account for 80 per cent of total deaths in Barbados. Additionally, it is said that one-quarter of adult Barbadians have a chronic non-communicable disease and this statistic is expected to rise to one-third, by 2030.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of illness and death in Barbados and this has been consistently so for the last fifteen to twenty years. The Barbados National Registry (BNR) for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) is currently the platform from which information on the incidence of cardiovascular disease is documented and analysed and so, there is no need to argue with the information put out in the public domain. What we all need to do is to take the information and make it useful to us. Make a determination not to add to the negative statistics.

Now if you, dear reader, had to choose between two options – good health or riches, which of the two options would you select? We are almost certain that most persons would opt for good health. It may be easy for those who have never really experienced any real health challenges to select the wealth option, but those who understand the value of good health and a lifetime of it, would opt for the healthier pick.

We can almost be certain that even the wealthiest of men who have experienced severe sickness, would give up their riches, if only they could be assured that they would lead long, healthy lives. Indeed, we have heard of instances where wealthy individuals have travelled far and wide seeking a cure for their illness or ailments and they are willing to pay a heavy price just to recapture their health.

Thus, we can come to the conclusion that indeed, “health is wealth”, especially when it’s continuous “good health”. Therefore, we must not measure our wealth and our worth by how much money we work for, or how much money we have in the bank. Some people even go as far as to measure wealth by the house they live in or the car they drive or how many trips they are able to take each year to a foreign land. Indeed, these may be reasonable indicators in some instances, but it can be said that the man who has good health and is able to maintain it throughout his lifetime, is the wealthiest man of all.

That said, when we realise that our health is being affected in some way, for whatever reason, we have to take measures to safeguard our health, recognising that “good health is wealth”. If we view it in this light, perhaps then we would want to do more to treasure and protect this new found wealth that we have taken for granted for so long. We would want to eat healthier, exercise more and find time for recreation, rather than simply spending our time gaining wealth in a financial form that we later have to spend to recover the good health that we let slip out of our grasp.

We as a nation also need to take a long, hard look at the issue of the increasing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases and determine that if indeed “good health is wealth”, how do we intend to go about seizing our goodly portion.