News
Paula Lindo
Because the Health Ministry continues to fight the high incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in TT, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh is taking aim at advertisers of fast food.
In a release, the ministry said Deyalsingh was speaking on the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday.
He said there needed to be targeted approaches to handle marketing strategies by multinational corporations which encourage increased consumption of fast food by teens and adolescents. He said these approaches ought to be robust to forestall an explosive increase in the speed of NCDs.
While delivering TT’s national statement, Deyalsingh said the unrepressed expansion of NCDs poses devastating global health consequences for people, families and communities, and threatens to overwhelm health systems around the globe.
The ministry said TT is one in all the 28 front-runner countries set to receive support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to implement strategies geared toward prevention and management of NCDs.
Other issues addressed by Deyalsingh included the problem of childhood vaccinations, including poliomyelitis.
During his visit, Deyalsingh met with WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and presented him with a a call for participation from the Prime Minister to go to TT at his earliest convenience.
The Assembly also discussed the importance of the worldwide pandemic accord, particularly for small island developing states resembling TT, and the necessity for heightened collaboration and resource-sharing amongst countries within the context of post covid19 recovery.
The Assembly took place from May 21 to 30, with Deyalsingh leading a delegation which included county medical officer of health Dr Jeanine St. Bernard and officials of the everlasting mission of TT to the United Nations, Geneva.
