The staggering cost of non-communicable diseases in the Solomon Islands, A$12.8 million.
I have written many times regarding my concern over the rate of non-communicable diseases (NCD’s) continuing to effect people of all ages in the Solomon Islands and, seemingly with numbers rising each year.
It is my understanding that 50 percent of all beds at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) are occupied by patients suffering from NCD’s, including diabetes, heart diseases, legulcers, kidney problems, high blood pressure and stroke.
Most patients go to the NRH with heart problems, or admitted when having suffered a stroke.
Leg infections are common and hospital surgeons carry out two to three leg amputations each week as a consequence of leg infections caused by NCD complications.
The rehabilitation workshop for the manufacture and fitting of prosthetic limbs is derelict and the many, many ex-patients that have had a leg amputated in the past are still without an artificial limb and remain handicapped.
NCD’s can be prevented by a proper, nutritional diet but these days there has been a move away from the traditional food, including leaf crops, taro and fish to imported foods containing too much fat, sugar and salt.
The heavy consumption of sweet drinks, beer and kwaso has contributed significantly to obesity and NCD’s.
Smokers are 40 per cent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than non-smokers. The more you smoke, the greater your risk. It also increases a diabetic’s chance of developing complications such as eye conditions or heart and kidney disease.
The Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical Services, according to research conducted by a specialist team of researchers from Sydney University last year, found the health ministry spends at least 20 percent of its annual medical expenses on NCD’s and a staggering figure of AUD$12.8 million was quoted by the researchers as the estimated national cost of diabetes incurred by the Solomon Islands government, and equating to AUD$281 per person per year.
(The figures quoted can be found in the research paper titled, ‘Counting the Cost of Diabetes in the Solomon Islands and Nauru.’)
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness, yet few Solomon Islanders I believe know it can harm your vision. Diabetes may cause irreversible damage to small blood vessels at the back of your eyes. There may be no symptoms until your vision is irreversibly damaged.
Another risk people often don’t associate with diabetes is the development of mental health conditions. Up to 50 per cent of diabetics are thought to also have a mental illness, such as anxiety or depression, yet only few are diagnosed and receive the necessary treatment.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
www.solomonislandsinfocus.com
or necessary treatment.
