An Education Article for all: by Ferdinant M. Sonyuy Secretary General, Cameroon CS NCD Alliance.
We of the NCD Community have become used to writing NCDs without thinking of those who do not know what they mean or even what the acronym stands for. NCDs refer to non-communicable diseases.
What are they? They are
chronic conditions, meaning they are long lasting or enduring in your body when
they get developed. Yes, they are developed, they are not caught. Some diseases
are caught, such as Malaria, Cold, HIV, etc. These are infections diseases that
we catch by being in contact with someone who has the disease or a vector that
transmits it. On the other hand, NCDs are not transmitted by a vector. They are
developed in the body, progressively by exposure to RISK FACTORs. So instead of
a mosquito, NCDs have risk factors you should run a way from. But before I talk
about the risk factors, let me give examples of the 5 major categories of NCDs:
Cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, stroke, heart attack, etc.), Cancers
(Breast, Cervical, stomach, Liver, etc.), Diabetes (Type 1, Type 2,
Gestational, etc.), Chronic Respiratory Diseases (Asthma, Emphysema, etc.), and
Mental Disorders.
What are some of the risk
factors? NCDs have five major risk factors. The first one that is most
important because it affects us most, is UNHEALTHY DIETS- about what we eat.
Foods high in fats, salt, sugar and energy, kills us. We need to avoid or
regulate this very well. There is much to say on this but in order to keep this
article short, I invite you to learn more about eating healthy foods.
The second major risk factor is
tobacco use/exposure: Sometimes you are not smoking tobacco or using other
drugs but those who smoke, smoke in your presence, breathe on you, and you are
exposed to secondary smoke which itself is very harmful to you. We must avoid
smoking including Shisha, e-cigarettes and other drugs. The Third risk factor
is Alcohol. In Cameroon, alcohol is consumed too much. In 2019, WHO reported
that Cameroon was the second in Africa in alcohol consumption. This is
terrible. Alcohol consumption destroys the body and predisposes you to develop
any of the NCDs.
The fourth risk factor is
Physical inactivity: Many people call it sports. But I like to call it
Exercise. We must learn to exercise. Many people especially women do not
exercise. We must do so and teach out children to exercise everyday or at least
5 times a week. This keeps them and us, healthy and fit for work. It makes us
fit even in our minds. We reason better when exercise makes our bodies and
brain able to function smoothly. It helps us take shape and prevents development
of these NCD conditions. To exercise properly, we advise that people do at
least 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise. So don’t kill yourself. You
should also make routine check ups a matter of good concern so that you can
take the opportunity to ask the nurse or doctor for an exercise prescription
which fits your condition if you have any. Otherwise, you can do brisk walking. This
means, walking in a constant pace without stressing, for a long distance or for
about 30 minutes maybe to and from your home. There are also exercise clubs you
may join or use a GYM membership, or use your TV or phone to get few minutes of
good exercise for yourself in the comfort of your home. This will keep you
healthy.
The last risk factor for NCDs is
Pollution. Yes, I’m sure you are surprised. This is why NCDs are also an
environmental issue. Have you ever heard of mercury, Lead, Particulate Matter
or other chemicals that get introduced to our environment in the water, air and
land that can cost us our health, including the health of unborn babies? This
comes from pollution. We need to ensure that the environment in which we live,
work and play is safe. This is the responsibility of the citizen as well as
that of the country. We must ensure these.
These risk factors were
articulated by the WHO when the issue of NCDs became very critical in the world
as noticed since 2010. The World Health Organization started to raise its voice
about the growing burden of the 5 major non communicable diseases that were
fast becoming the main causes of death in the worldwide statistics. By 2011,
NCDs were responsible for 63% of global annual deaths. IN 2017, NCDs were
already responsible for 70% of global annual deaths. The reason is not just
because they are many diseases put together, it is because these diseases have
these five major risk factors interacting and responsible for their
development. So, they can’t just be treated as individual diseases or risk
factors. This makes the issue of handling NCDs very complicated and needing all
sectors of government and society involved, from trade, to agriculture,
education, finance, Mines and Industries, etc. It is not just a health issue
for the ministry of health, it is a whole of society and whole of government
problem. We cannot therefore Act on NCDs in isolation.
This is why the Cameroon CS NCD
Alliance has been advocating for the development of a national multisectoral
Action Plan for NCDs as well as establishing an active National Multisectoral
Committee on NCDs to ensure that the work in Cameroon is defined with
milestones across different domains and done in a measurable fashion. We call
on all Citizens to join us.
You can follow our work by
visiting any of our websites or social media handles listed below:
Website:
www.cacsna.org
Facebook and
Twitter: @CameroonNCDA
Or contact: +237 674733730 on WhatsApp
