In 2003 when the Government introduced the Chronic-Disease Assistance Programme (C-DAP) for people diagnosed with stated non-communicable diseases (NCDs) the patients thought it was a new lease on life courtesy the State.
The plan was attractive, demanding no change of lifestyle. The education about the nature and the consequences of the disease was casual. All this group had to do was to collect the medication.
The epidemic the plan was intended to halt grew silently. The discipline of exercise and moderation were not insisted upon. The presentation on a golden plate lulled the sufferers into a false sense of well-being.
Unknowing to the C-DAP lodge the Caribbean had the highest prevalence of NCD which is also responsible for half the annual deaths in the region.
From the inception the plan did not match the seriousness of the disease and with Covid-19 here to worsen the situation it appears that the users of the drugs were on a leash with one foot in the grave.
The “life extension” the users of the drugs enjoyed hid the quicksand situation they were stuck in. They were groomed for the predatory characteristics of Covid-19.
Even the Minister of Health made an empty boast of the increasing number of persons accessing C-DAP. The recovery rate would have been more appropriate and truthful.
The ailing health-care system supported the death-trap of C-DAP even though ministers of health sang “we are better than many” … not for those who can seek foreign medical examination and treatment.
For the authorities Covid-19 is an excellent avenue to deny the consequences of their well-intended actions.
Liberal economic activities allowed the production of unhealthy items that did damage to lungs; injured pancreas and encouraged the past-time of “taking a drink for this and a drink for that”.
The State was entrusted to guide citizens in sickness and in health using a formula of “revenue from taxes to exceed the cost of rehabilitating patients”.
The minister further described the situation with diabetes as “stunning” and saw a partial solution in “we have to keep our children moving”.
What then was the purpose of lockdowns and no school? The people of school age were relegated to a premature sedentary lifestyle.
Further analysis by the Minister of Health revealed that “a disproportionate group of Covid-19 fatalities are diabetics”. Was this milestone established by hesitants?
The control of diabetes in T&T is similar to rearing animals to be fed to lions. We have been confirmed as having the highest rate of diabetes per population and mortality as well.
Was the Covid-19 vicious attack on us unknowingly orchestrated by the health system with its soft approach to handling NCDs and the free-for-all production of unhealthy items?
How is the slaughter to be stopped? With a vaccine?
It is time for an aggressive eradication of the underlying medical conditions that Covid19 is feeding on. In the same way vaccinations were used to create safe zones, health and well-being could have been enforced.
The hesitants of the vaccine I will praise. They have developed lifestyles that Covid19 will not befriend. They are different especially if they have been observing the commandments of well-being.
The vaccinated I admonish for having abdicated the responsibility for their health, leaving it to others and pharmaceuticals to protect. Either they lack the confidence that they did their utmost to keep the immune system in pristine condition or they feel guilty. Over-indulgence in extremes and riotous living cannot be compared to the discipline of the hesitants.
Covid-19, the judge is here and no one will escape punishment and/or death if guilty of not protecting nature’s immune system. When the smoke clears let’s see which is the last group standing for nature is just and her punishment always matches the crime.
So we have tried masking, washing and distancing. What is the success rate? We locked down and locked up. Any improvement?
We stayed inside and closed the beaches. Well? Vaccines were manufactured, distributed and dispensed to most of the world. Effective? Boosters were added. Results questionable or definite? We blamed the hesitants. Are they the cause? How was the whole scenario engineered?
Let those who have intelligence analyse the situation and develop a measure of medical independence.
A high percentage of Covid-19 deaths have diabetes as a comorbidity. This disease is a forerunner to many NCDs, which represent six of ten causes of death in the Caribbean. How will a vaccine help?
The immune system is already compromised and surrounded by debilitating body conditions. Even if the vaccines perform the function of immunising the body it will not restore the capability of the immune system. Hence is booster after booster after booster until thy kingdom come.
If NCDs are based on lifestyle then they are preventable. An effective treatment plan will remove the fodder that Covid-19 is feeding on. Our goal should be to promote health and prevent diseases.
Why are we voluntarily consigning ourselves to a sick bed? Agriculture can produce healthy foods and a herb industry on par with pharmaceuticals. Education can make us hold the State to its moral obligation of keeping us healthy and minimising the manufacture of unhealthy products that tempt us.
Failure to address NCDs aggressively will only increase the shelf life of Covid-19.