The Ministry of Health advised the nation to make healthy lifestyle choices and to know their blood glucose, blood pressure and BMI numbers to stem the prevalence of diabetes, when observances for World Diabetes Day were held last Monday.
In a press release, the ministry said the focus for the period 2009-2013 is diabetes education and prevention and this year’s theme is ‘Act on diabetes. Now.’
Five key messages have been developed to inform the outposts and deliverables of this year’s campaign, including the fact that diabetes kills one person every eight seconds, amounting to a total of four million people per year; that persons from all age ranges and economic status can be affected; and that lifesaving care is a right, not a privilege. The ministry also advocates that the nation chooses healthy lifestyles by demanding healthy foods and environments, choosing a low salt, low fat diet and keeping active.
This year, Guyana has added other key messages to its programme for tackling the condition: it advises persons not to smoke or misuse alcohol and for diabetics to use medicines recommended by their doctors. “Everyone must know their risk and those at risk must screen regularly; everyone must know their numbers – BMI, Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Level,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, about 8-12 per cent of the population is affected by diabetes and about 16-20 per cent is hypertensive. Guyana spends almost $300 million on diabetes medicine alone in the public sector and along with the sum from the private sector it accounts for more than $400 million annually. “We must take action now to prevent diabetes-related blindness, renal (kidney) failure, heart diseases, amputations etc,” the ministry said.
World Diabetes Day engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness. It was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Foundation and the World Health Organisation in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat that it now poses. World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2007. While the themed campaigns are held all year, November 14 was selected for special observances as it is the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.
