KINGSTON, Jamaica— Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says Jamaica’s current health profile is on the decline as more individuals, including an increasing number of young people, are getting ill.
Tufton emphasised that if this trend persists, the expenses associated with healthcare will inevitably rise as well if urgent adjustments to certain lifestyles are not made.
Tufton was speaking after Wednesday’s Post Cabinet briefing.
He informed OBSERVER ONLINE that there has been an almost 100 per cent increase in persons with chronic illnesses.
He disclosed that on Wednesday, the health ministry sent medication valued at $27 billion to the National Health Fund which should benefit over one million Jamaicans.
“It is very concerning because one of the things that we have come upon is that over the last decade life expectancy is actually stagnant and likely to be on the decline. This is not a year or two, it is coming from well over a decade and that is because people are getting ill younger and it is substantially about the choices they make in life; the foods they eat, the lack of exercise, the lack of rest,” Tufton said.
As a result, the health minister has outlined ways to tackle this growing health issue.
“It means that we will have to spend a lot more time on prevention—which means more screenings— which is why we have the ‘know your numbers’ campaign. It means lifestyle practices such as school nutrition policy, trans-fat elimination in our food systems, physical activity— Jamaica Moves and so on. So it is an all-of-society, holistic approach that is required because right at this point, what we see is a trend that is unsustainable from a cost perspective, a quality of life and longevity of life perspective and that’s why we are making a lot of noise about people getting screened and changing their lifestyle,” Dr Tufton said.
He added: “The first thing we have to do is raise awareness, which is what we are doing. Then we encourage changes in behaviour so there is a social sciences/behavioural sciences function and that is what we are working on with some of the things we do, even while we prepare to deal with the concerns that are there.”
