Fighting chronic diseases

Chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, cancers, stroke and their complications are the cause of eight out of every ten deaths in this country and account for more than 60 per cent of the Ministry of Health’s budget.

So says Chairman of the National Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Commission, Sir Trevor Hassell. He was speaking on Friday, during the opening ceremony of the launch of the Draft Physical Development Plan (2017) Community Meetings and Stakeholder Consultation Workshop, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, as he reflected on how physical development planning can help to combat some of the challenges posed by such diseases.

“These diseases are for the most part a result of unhealthy living, consisting of physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, abuse of alcohol and exposure to tobacco smoke, in a
setting often triggered by the social determinants of where we live, work and play, and frequently and sometimes unwittingly, contributed to by policies and legislation
in non-health ministries such as education, agriculture, trade, finance, industry and commerce, transport and urban development, that usually are not aligned with public health policies,” he said.

Given that, Sir Trevor maintained there is an urgent need to put into practice the World Health Organisation’s approach of health in all policies. Through that, he said every ministry is thought to be a de facto health ministry. With that in mind, he said the Town and Country Development Planning Office is to be commended for recognising the nexus between the country’s future physical development and the health of the people in the amended draft of the Physical Development Plan. In that document, he noted, they have identified advancing mobility as one of the key concepts, and he said this could address the issue of physical inactivity, which remains one of the main risk factors for chronic diseases.

Sir Trevor referencing the Health of the Nation Study released last year, noted that it showed that among Barbadians 25 to 54 years of age nine out of ten women and six out of ten men do not meet minimum recommendations for being active. Moreover, he said in spite of this inadequacy, almost two-thirds of Barbadians believe they are sufficiently active.

“The study also revealed that of the physical activity that occurred among both men and women, about 50 to 60 per cent of that physical activity occurred at work; 20 to 25 per cent recreational; ten to 15 per cent at home and less than five per cent was in personal travel. We in Barbados are far less physically active than our parents and grandparents; this has arisen because of the dramatic increase in motor vehicles and the increased mechanisation on the island, with the resulting reduction of walking and cycling as a means of personal transport. Also a reduction in work-related physical activity and a reduction in domestic physical activity,” he noted.

To that end, he said the NCD Commission strongly endorses the concept of advancing mobility, as he noted that such an approach to physical development in this country is anticipated to contribute to the slowing of the chronic disease epidemic. (JRT)