Education – Awareness against non-communicable diseases: Students in community outreach – Lequotidien

According to statistics from the World Health Organization in the Atlas 2020 report, non-communicable diseases are responsible for 71% of death cases worldwide and 42% in Senegal. Faced with this situation, the Ministries of Health and Social Action and National Education are banking on students to try to reverse the trend.

By Badé SECK – The ministers of health and social action and national education launched yesterday the pilot training program for teachers on the prevention of non-communicable diseases and risk factors. The official ceremony took place at the El Hadji Baytir Samb elementary school in Ngor, in the presence of education, health, religious and customary authorities. According to the World Health Organization, in the Atlas 2020 report, non-communicable diseases are responsible for 71% of death cases worldwide and 42% in Senegal. Also, said the report, 80% of these diseases occur in underdeveloped countries. To combat these so-called chronic diseases, the ministries of health and social action, and of national education have launched a training program at El Hadji Baytir Samb elementary school for better pedagogy to raise awareness of the factors involved. risks of these diseases. The school yard served as a setting to house the lesson of life. A lesson whose objective is to educate the 790 students in the establishment, and parents on the risk factors of non-communicable diseases (NCD).
In absolute terms, 38 million people lose their lives in the world as a result of these MNTs. If we are careful, the number of deaths could reach 55 million per year, according to Dr Lucile Imbou, resident representative of the World Health Organization by 2030.
In the opinion of the Minister of National Education, “the school, considered as an extension of the family, must play an important role in the prevention against MNT. It should not remain impervious to these concerns. And by virtue of its mission, it must participate in qualitative change for better health in the community, ”says Mamadou Talla. Continuing, the Minister of National Education indicated “that non-communicable diseases are nowadays a serious public health problem”.
In response to this problem, the two ministerial departments are implementing the training strategy for actors who integrate the prevention of NTDs. The choice of a multi-sectoral approach that the educational institution constitutes in this momentum in the united fight against NIDs testifies to the importance you attach to school health, welcomes Mr. Talla, who is delighted with the collaborative work undertaken by the two ministries. “Education is an input to health and development, and students are reliable intermediaries to succeed in the challenge of the fight against non-communicable diseases,” says Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr. “During childhood and adolescence, children are exposed to risk factors that promote the onset of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and respiratory infections. Thus, to reach a part of the population at a lower cost, in this case teachers, parents of pupils and pupils, the school environment represents a privileged environment through its educational mission and the promotion of health. », Continues the Minister of Health and Social Action.
In addition, he underlines the enormous economic consequences which the NIDs entail because of their expensive care. “This is why, he recommends, the development of capital and social protection are extremely important levers in order to fight effectively against these diseases, in accordance with the strategic axes of the Emerging Senegal Plan (Pse).” After the life lesson, the students commit to adopting the prescribed behaviors that will help the community to eat less fat and less salt, to participate in sports regularly, among other preventive actions.
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