3 May 2018
EARLY NUTRITIONAL ADVICE TO PREVENT DIABETES
A feature article in the Island Sun today, 3 May, 2018, referred to a ground breaking ceremony in Honiara, yesterday, for a new Diabetic Centre, a Specialist Clinic and a Nurses Hostel.
Initiating the ground breaking ceremony was a Minister from the Taiwan Embassy in Honiara, Mr. Calvin Yen, and the CEO of the National Referral Hospital (NRH), Dr Steve Aumanu and other persons from the Embassy and the NRH.
The entire project is expected to be borne by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and cost SBD $6.5 million.
The Diabetic Centre will replace the NRH’s old facilities and refurbish them with a diabetic centre and specialist clinic.
In echoing what I have often said, My Yen was reported to have remarked, “Health care is a basic human right while diseases have no boundaries.”
Mr. Yen added, “As a member of the global community, Taiwan will continue to uphold the objectives of health for all.”
Mr. Yen went on to say, “The health and medical cooperation between Taiwan and Solomon Islands remains cordial and has been successful over the past 35 years. “
“More than 10 million US dollars have been invested to build the NRH throughout several construction stages, and this year, we are also celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Taiwan Health Centre.”
I feel sure all appreciate Taiwan’s generous support to the Solomon Islands medical services and I offer my personal thanks.
In recent letters to the Solomon Islands media I have stressed in several articles the need for local people to eat the right balance of nutritional foods in order to reduce the growing trend to non-communicable diseases (NCD’ s) which lead to obesity, heart failure, diabetes and high blood pressure and, sadly, many premature deaths.
The increasing avoidance of traditional foods and the consumption of imported foods and drinks have, noticeably led to a vast increase in NCD’s over the last decades in the Solomon Islands.
It would be my wish that the ROC Government begin giving nutritional advice in cooperation with the local MOHMS well in advance of the completion of the proposed Diabetic Clinic in order to minimise the health risks in the communities and I would go further to say such nutritional advice should begin in schools with teachers and parents being involved.
It follows that health prevention is better than having to seek a cure when it might already be too late to have prevented the onset of diabetes.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
