The National Commission on Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) says that the country needs to do more on cancer awareness and promoting Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination.
A statement today from the Commission on NCDs (lifestyle diseases) to mark World Health Day said it was are aware of specific actions the government has embarked on with Mount Sinai of New York and with the Chinese Medical Brigade to elevate the cancer response programmes in Guyana.
“We feel Guyana can, indeed, do more to elevate the cancer response to protect our people. We are disappointed that the education and awareness programme and the strategies to lift the HPV vaccination among boys and girls appear stagnated and little effort is being made to improve HPV vaccination coverage. Equally, we are disappointed that HPV testing is still very inaccessible in Guyana.
“HPV testing is critical for Guyana to identify persons at risk for cervical cancer and for other cancers. We are hopeful that the NCD Commission will not have to remind the MOH (Ministry of Health) how important the need for more actions to elevate HPV vaccination and testing when WHD 2024 come around.
“In 2021, 2022 and now in 2023, the NCD Commission advocated for more robust testing for HBA1c in primary health care. We are disappointed that HBA1c (a blood test that shows what … average blood sugar ….level was over the past two to three months) testing is still difficult to access in the public health sector. Very few persons have access to HBA1c testing in health posts and health centres and in district hospitals. Disappointingly, very few people have access to HBA1c testing in Regional Hospitals still as we observe WHD (World Health Day) 2023. We urge the MOH to correct this lapse long before WHD 2024. This is an example to show that Health for All is still an illusion. We must work towards genuine reduction of health inequity, and this is one way to do so”.
The statement said that Food and Nutrition remain a major strategy in the fight against both NCDs and Infectious Diseases.
“Our children are still exposed to unhealthy food and our efforts to mitigate the problem remain timid. Front of the Package labeling cannot be yet another slogan. We must advocate and ensure that it happens. Salty, sugary, ultra-processed food are killing us and we remain on the sidelines as bad food kill more of us than
any infectious pandemic has ever done”, the statement said.
It added that 74% of our deaths are now due to the NCDs and more than 32% of all NCD deaths are premature.
“There is an opportunity for us in Guyana to do more. We congratulate the MOH for the launching of the Diabetic Centre at Lusignan. This is a significant action. While we are grateful that the MOH has recently launched the Diabetic Centre of Excellence at Lusignan, we must ensure quality diabetic services reach all citizens in Guyana. The last Diabetic Treatment and Care Guidelines, Edition 3, was published in 2008. Since then, no amendment has been made”, the statement added.