Amid the global outbreak of monkeypox and alarming cases of malaria and dengue, health authorities throughout the Caribbean have decided to prioritise these issues as topics for discussion at the 47th Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD).
Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony and a team from Guyana’s Health Ministry will be participating in this high-level engagement, to be held in Washington DC, United States of America, during the period September 27/28.
In a brief telephone interview with this publication recently, Dr Anthony disclosed that Guyana is hoping to forge collective action on these life-threatening illnesses, as well as on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). He explained that the country’s approach would be comprehensive, with pillars such as prevention, mitigation and management being at the forefront of every discussion.
“So, on the agenda, one of the things that they have on the agenda is disease elimination. So, Guyana would be presenting a paper on elimination of certain infectious diseases from Guyana. So, filaria, leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis, leprosy, and ailments…,” he explained.
“Normally how the agenda is structured, some agency would take the lead and then there will be a general discussion. So, once that comes up, we’ll be able to share our views on the matter,” Minister Anthony has said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NCDs account for approximately 41 million deaths each year, equivalent to 71 per cent of all deaths globally. Each year, more than 15 million people between the ages of 30 and 69 years die from an NCD; 85 per cent of these “premature” deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
In the Caribbean and Latin America, the burden of NCDs is mainly due to illness and deaths from a wide range of diseases, which include cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes; and are attributable to risk factors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, harmful use of alcohol and tobacco, air pollution, stress, and overweight/obesity.
According to Dr Anthony, these statistics and the surge in dengue, malaria and monkeypox cases have sparked the need for immediate action.
In fact, just a few days ago, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat convened a meeting on these issues, and presentations were made on the Region’s epidemiological trends, specifically how these trends would affect policy, and the possible approaches to eliminate communicable diseases.
The discussions also focused on strengthening the Region’s health systems and boosting its human resources for health capacity; and of special significance was the presentation of the policy brief on the migration of healthcare workers in the Caribbean, for consideration by health sector development stakeholders.
The primary roles of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) are to promote and establish programmes for the development of culture and sports in the community, and to promote the development of special focus programmes that are supportive of the establishment and maintenance of a healthy human environment in the community.
