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Posted: Monday 10 March, 2008 at 1:58 PM
Erasmus Williams

                PM Douglas leads CARICOM colleagues on walk for health in the Bahamas
     
    Bahamas Minister of Health Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis, left, chats with Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Hon. Baldwin Spencer, centre, and Bahamas Prime Minister the Right Hon. Hubert Ingraham following the first half of a health walk early Saturday. (Photo by Torrell Glinton)
    BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MARCH 10TH 2008 (CUOPM) –
    St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister and CARICOM’s lead spokesman on Health, HIV/AIDS and Human Resource Development led regional colleagues on a two-mile walk along the Cable Beach Strip during the just concluded 19th Inter-Sessional Meeting in the Bahamas on Saturday.
     
    Several heads of government, including Bahamas Prime Minister the Right Hon. Hubert Ingraham, were up early for the workout – from the Sheraton Resort to nearby Goodman’s Bay and back.
     
    Bahamian journalist, Candia Dames quoted the St. Kitts and Nevis leader as saying that it is important for heads to practice what they preach.
     
    “We’ve been talking as leaders over the past few years about maintaining good health,” he said after the walk. “Last year in Port of Spain, we had a Port of Spain declaration where we committed ourselves to fighting the epidemic of non-communicable diseases and one clear way of the leaders demonstrating that is to actually try to be fit,” he said.
     
    Prime Minister Douglas described the state of health in the region as being “very challenging.”
     
    He said that in his report to heads in the closed sessions on Thursday, he reported that the high incidence of hypertension and diabetes remains a major concern for many states.
     
    “Too many of our people are obese,” Prime Minister Douglas said. “We are now seeing quite a bit of juvenile obesity. That is a great concern to us. Too many of our people are smoking. Smoking is actually killing our populations. And don’t speak about HIV/AIDS.
     
    “Although we’ve seen a decrease in the incidence within the last four years, in the age group 15 to 44 our young population is still dying from AIDS and this is of great concern to us.”   ~~Adz:Right~~
     
    Dr. Douglas said heads have committed to ensuring that their individual countries establish special commissions to address the problem of chronic non-communicable diseases.
     
    He said heads have also committed to attempting to create an atmosphere in their country where children can grow up healthily.
    Dr. Douglas admitted that it is not easy keeping fit as prime minister.
     
    “You have to build that into your agenda,” he said. “Having been there for 13 years, it’s not easy.”
     
    Bahamas Health Minister the Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis, who was among those out front on the walk, noted that Caribbean states all share the same concerns as it regards the health of their people.
     
    “We have been treating diseases the wrong way; we’ve used the wrong approach in the past,” Dr. Minnis told the Bahamas Journal. “We’ve just waited for the end stage and treated by medication. Now we realize that the way to go is by prevention. Healthy living and eating are a part of the prevention and wellness programme.”
     
    He said The Bahamas isn’t doing too well as it regards overall health. “Chronic non-communication diseases account for 65 percent of our mortality,” the minister said.
     
    “So 65 percent of us die from diseases that can be preventable to an extent and I think that’s our challenge. I think we need to set a goal where we can bring that percentage down annually. If we look at it, in ’03 that percentage was about 45 percent; then in ’04 it went up to about 54 percent and in ’05 it was 65 percent. We don’t have the 06/07 statistic and I can only assume it’s higher.”
     
    Dr. Minnis said health officials are seeking to reverse this trend, and to improve not only the longevity of the lives of Bahamians, but the quality of their lives.
     
    “We would not want to extend your life to 80 if 40 years of that was somewhat bedridden,” he said.  “We want to ensure that it’s all healthy.”
     
    The Hon. Stevenson King, Prime Minister of St. Lucia, added that there is a great call for an emphasis on wellness and prevention in the region.
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