SWRHA launches child wellness centres

DIRECTOR of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) Dr Malachy Ojuro, said in TT non-communicable diseases (NCD) are the biggest cause of morbidity and mortality and have been among
four or five leading causes of death
over the last two decades.

“This country has one of the highest mortality rates in Latin America and the Caribbean for diabetes,” he said.

Speaking at the launch of the SWRHA’s child wellness centres, held at the C3 Centre, Ste Madeleine, he said over the past two decades, NCDs such as type 2 diabetes had emerged among young people.

Ojuro said the Ministry of Health’s National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCD – TT 2017-2021 reports a survey of BMIs (body mass index) revealed that overweight and obesity in schoolchildren aged five-18 increased from 11 per cent in 1999 to 23 per cent in 2009, an increase of 109 per cent. Research has shown 24 per cent of school-aged children (five-18) are overweight or obese. “The implementation of these child wellness centres is designed to assist families with managing and preventing the progression of NCDs among our nation’s children,” he said.

A 2017 study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Imperial College, London, showed the number of obese children and adolescents worldwide had risen tenfold in the past four decades. “If the current trends continue, more children and adolescents will be obese than moderately or severely underweight by 2022. These are indeed very alarming statistics,” he said. Children are acquiring diabetes mellitus, hypertension, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease, he said, from a very young age.

“High levels of overweight and obesity, beginning from childhood and continuing in adulthood, further contribute to the overall increased risk of NCDs in the population, while at the same time reducing the productive capacity of those affected,” he said.

This increase is a result of a shift in the types of foods that children now consume, he said, as well as less physical activity, as children today spend too much time sitting in front of computers and television sets and engrossed in cellphones and tablets. He urged parents to make preventative health care a part of family life to control these risk factors, and make better lifestyle choices, This, he said, could significantly reduce the incidence of these diseases among children, as overweight and obesity, as well as related diseases, are preventable. The SWRHA will host child wellness centres in strategic locations in communities in the various counties in the south-west region. They will be staffed by health professionals to improve and promote healthy lifestyle choices.

On Mondays a clinic will be opened in South Oropouche Health Centre; Tuesdays at Pleasantville; Wednesdays in Couva; and Thursdays in Freeport.

Acting SWRHA CEO Dr Albert Persaud, also addressed the function, saying parents are responsible for their children’s health care. He urged parents to substitute fruits for sweets on a daily basis.