GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept 14, CMC – Caribbean countries were on Saturday engaged in various activities as the region observed Wellness Day in a bid to highlight the dangers of non-communicable diseases (NDCS).
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Irwin la Rocque said that six years after the historic signing by regional leaders of the 2007 Port-of-Spain Declaration “Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of NCDs”, Caribbean people have taken to the idea of a Caribbean Wellness Day.
He said the Declaration was the outcome of the concerns of Caribbean leaders about the physical, economic and social burdens caused by lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, obesity and cancer.
The Declaration also outlines a selection of necessary measures to address the four main modifiable causative risk factors for NCDs – physical inactivity, inadequate diets, tobacco use, and harmful use of alcohol. It also designated the second Saturday of September as Caribbean Wellness Day.
La Rocque said that this year’s focus is on addressing the prevention and control of NCDs among the regions’ young people.
It is being held under the theme “Ensuring healthy lifestyles among our youth for a brighter future”.
“In our region, current data on health behaviour among our youth are worrying, with increasing trends of obesity which can be attributed to unhealthy diets, increasingly sedentary lifestyles, greater consumption of tobacco and alcohol and earlier initiation of use of both these harmful products. “
La Rocque warned that if these trends were not halted and reversed, “the health of tomorrow’s adults, the base of our Region’s productive capacity, will be compromised.
“I call on our region’s youth to partner with us in the fight against NCDs by fostering greater health responsibility and awareness among your peers. I urge you to become involved as leaders and change agents in the design and implementation of programmes and interventions that will promote healthy eating, increased physical activity, the rejection of tobacco products, and the responsible consumption of alcohol.”
He said he was also inviting ideas from young people in the Caribbean, adding that over the next few months, CARICOM member states “will be united in efforts to address the specific issues for the prevention and control of NCDs among the region’s youth”.
He said regional countries would be engaged in youth-led celebratory activities such as health fairs, fitness walks, sports and games, dance marathons, healthy food promotions, and health education sessions.
“On the 6th Anniversary of the Port-of-Spain Declaration, let us all renew our pledge to ‘Unite to Stop the Epidemic of NCDs” and cognizant of the prominent role played by CARICOM in the International arena to put NCDs on the development agenda, support the efforts of our youth and pay credence to the slogan ‘we love our bodies,” La Rocque added.
