BASSETERRE, St. Kitts September 07, 2011 (SKNIS) - With St. Kitts and Nevis falling just 1,868 texts and clicks short of its target of 15,000 messages, the Ministry of Health is appealing to all cell phone owners and persons with internet access to join the fight against Non-communicable Chronic Diseases (NCDs).
 
To meet the Federation’s target, Digicel customers can text “YES” to 4325, while LIME customers can text “YES” to 4357 on or before Caribbean Wellness Day, Saturday, September 10, 2011.  Persons with Internet access can log on to Facebook at www.facebook.com/getthemessage and click “like” on the page to join the movement, on the mentioned date.
 
These texts will be added to those compiled during the Text-a-Thon held Wednesday, August 24 and Saturday, August 27 when the initial numbers were compiled.  The total of 13,132 texts and clicks represents 88 percent of the target.
 
The objective is to compile one million text messages to petition the need for greater awareness and management of chronic diseases in the Caribbean.  The petition will be submitted to the United Nations Summit on NCDs, which was requested by CARICOM Heads of Government.  The Summit will be held in New York this month and it is hoped that the petition of messages will encourage world leaders to increase attention and funding to the global prevention and management of NCDs.
 
NCDs are of particular concern to the Caribbean Region considering that its nationals are primarily affected by the medical conditions which in general account for 60 percent of deaths globally and in the Americas.  These illnesses include hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.
 
Residents are encouraged to join the Get the Message Campaign coordinated by the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) so that the Federation can reach its target with an additional 1,868 messages.  This can be done by texting “YES” to 4325 on Digicel phones and “YES” to 4357 on LIME phones, or by clicking “like” on www.facebook.com/getthemessage on or before Caribbean Wellness Day, Saturday, September 10, 2011. 
 

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