HASSELL URGES WORKERS TO ADOPT HEALTHY LIFESTYLES
World Heart Federation Vice President Trevor Hassell urged workers in Barbados to adopt healthy lifestyle changes as a means to prevent the country’s “scourge” of cardiovascular disease and other chronic non-communicable diseases.
Dr Hassell spoke on 1 September to the Barbados Workers Union. It was his first major address as Chairman of Barbados’ National Chronic Non-communicable Diseases Commission since Health Minister Jerome Walcott appointed him to the post in January.
Cardiovascular disease and the other chronic diseases are by far Barbados’ biggest killers. Cardiovascular disease alone accounts for 30% of deaths in the Caribbean country.
Seeks wide national support
“The commission is very active and its several members are very keen and enthusiastic,” Dr Hassell said. “We look forward to receiving wide national support from civil society, the media and policy-makers as we attempt in the years ahead to change national lifestyles.”
Dr Hassell pointed specifically to the need to control the major risk factors for chronic diseases, including exposure to tobacco smoke, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, and overweight and obesity.
“There is much that can be done to slow and delay the epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases,” he said. “This requires two approaches: first, a reduction in the modifiable risk factors for the diseases, and, second, establishment of cost-effective programmes to treat the diseases when they do occur.”
On 15 September 2007, Barbados and the other members of the Caribbean Community, also known as CARICOM, held a summit entitled “Stemming the Tide of Non-communicable Diseases in the Caribbean”. It took place in Trinidad and Tobago and was hosted by Prime Minister Patrick Manning.
“What we are witnessing today is how the Caribbean is bringing stewardship to the rest of the world,” World Health Organization Assistant Director General Catherine Le Galès-Camus told the assembled heads of government.
