At the invitation of the Department of NCD / Integrated Service Delivery (ISD) of the World Health Organization (WHO), Minister Amar Ramadhin participated as a special guest speaker in a webinar entitled “From Declarations to Actions: Political will to fight NCDs.” The minister had to indicate which political strategies the country will apply to tackle and combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Suriname immediately took the opportunity to indicate concretely that the political will is present and in which policy areas the ministry wants to intervene with regard to the approach to non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Concrete issues have been mentioned for this, such as a preventive approach by, among other things, changing the educational curriculum to more people-oriented and public health subjects, promoting a healthy lifestyle by identifying safe areas where people can exercise.
It will also look at the possibility of discouraging the use of unhealthy products in the form of import duties and clear regulations for import safe and healthy foods and additional levies on sugar.
“Thanks to the participation in this webinar, Suriname was immediately placed back on the map, whereby people immediately started looking for the country and that was also evident from some reactions during the webinar,” writes Public Health in a press release. The minister was also allowed to answer some questions from panel members.
More than four hundred participants took part in this webinar. Minister Ramadhin, who was the only minister of all countries to participate, is very grateful for this opportunity to Suriname. The clear vision of Suriname has been made known. To tackle the NCDs, it will work with the healthcare field and other partners, such as the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
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