Georgetown: The Ministry of Health this evening held an inter-faith service to launch a week of activities commemorating this year’s Caribbean Wellness Day which will be observed on Saturday September 14 under the theme “Promoting health lifestyle for national and regional development”.
This event, which was held at the Uman Yana saw members of the Hindu, Christian and Muslim community offering prayers to launch the event.
Guyana, like many other countries globally, is facing a silent epidemic of chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) which has taken the lives of more men, women and children compared to any other disease, and as such the Ministry of Health has been working feverishly to seek ways to combatthese diseases.
Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran during brief remarks noted that the promotion of good health and wellness is not only restricted to the ministry, but urged families, the religious community and other organisations to get on board to raise awareness of this very important issue.
This year’s activities will be focused on healthy lifestyles. Minister Ramsaran said that NCDs are becoming more prevalent and are responsible for more than 80% of deaths in Guyana.
Minister Ramsaran spoke of the many facilities that are available to provide primary health care to persons whose lives are threatened byNCDs, and give them the opportunity to delay the onset of such diseases. He said that more nurses are also trained in this regard.
Having recognised the importance of healthy citizens, the ministry will also be launching a Presidential commission on NCDS, and creating the “wellness warriors”, a group of young people trained in specific areas.
Additionally, there will be a health fair and family day at the Square of the Revolution where persons can have the opportunity to do dental checks, eye testing, and general medical checks.
Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud, explained that each year more resources are poured into the health sector to treat NCDs.
“You can beat this, you can take the right measures, take your medications, regular exercise, drink lots of water and live a clean life that will result in us living longer and contributing to our society,” Dr. Shamdeo urged those gathered at the event.
Over the past years, NCDS have been accounting for a large number of deaths, both globally and nationally, hence in 2007, the CARICOM launched Caribbean Wellness Day which aims to promote healthy lifestyle, and bring awareness about the physical, economic and social burdens caused by lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, obesity and cancer.
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