Your Excellency Prime Minister Mia Mottley,
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Good morning to all of you, and it’s such a great honour to be here with you today.
I thank the Barbados Diabetes Foundation and the community here at the Maria Holder Diabetes Centre for the Caribbean for hosting this important event.
I commend the Foundation and the Centre for its work, and especially for its focus on multidisciplinary teams, with nurses, nutritionists, and a range of specialists, from podiatry to psychosocial support, all provided free of charge to patients – the one-stop shop.
Your commitment to alleviating poverty and improving the quality of life of vulnerable populations through a comprehensive approach is an inspiring model from which other countries can learn.
We support your vision to expand this approach to other countries in the region through your collaboration with PAHO-WHO.
Also during the visit I was informed that the dialysis session is around 300 Barbadian dollars, and that’s covered by the government, which as you indicated, Dr Holder, three sessions means 900 Barbadian dollars. That is a very strong commitment from the government. Imagine any patient here paying that amount of money. That’s why we support, as WHO, health as a rights issue, that should be provided to all citizens. Especially expensive services like this, it’s very difficult for patients to access.
I know that diabetes is a significant public health challenge here in Barbados, with prevalence of more than 14%.
Diabetes takes a huge toll on the individuals and families it strikes, but also on the economy. According to the Barbados Diabetes Foundation, diabetes costs this country US$15 million in direct costs, and US$75 million in indirect costs, such as lost productivity.
Globally, diabetes accounts for an estimated 1.5 million deaths a year, making it one of the world’s leading causes of mortality.
The global burden of diabetes continues to grow. More than 640 million people are expected to have diabetes by 2030, and more than 780 million by 2045.
And yet it is estimated that almost half of all people with diabetes globally are unaware they have it.
And 100 years since the discovery of insulin, far too many people who need it cannot afford it, or live in communities where they cannot access it.
Essential medicines for diabetes are available in only about half of primary health care facilities in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.
We must remove the barriers to early diagnosis and treatment.
That is why primary health care as the foundation of universal health coverage is so important, so that people with diabetes, and those most likely to have it, have access to the services they need.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated issues of access.
This makes community engagement for people living with diabetes all the more crucial, so their voices are heard in the policy-making process – the house-to-house service in Barbados is a very innovative approach, especially engaging individuals and communities.
People living with diabetes are at increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, along with other dangers such as kidney failure, stroke, heart attacks, blindness and lower limb amputation.
And yet the pandemic has made it harder for them to access the services they need. 74% of countries have reported disruptions to diabetes management services due to the pandemic.
WHO is committed to supporting all countries to strengthen their efforts for the prevention, early detection and control of diabetes.
This past year, which marked the centenary of the discovery of insulin, we launched the Global Diabetes Compact – a commitment to ensuring that all people diagnosed with diabetes have access to comprehensive, affordable and quality prevention, treatment and care.
I thank the Barbados Ministry of Health, and representatives from the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, for your support for the compact.
At the World Health Assembly next month, countries will consider adopting new global diabetes targets, including the target that by 2030, 80% of people with diabetes are diagnosed, and 80% of those diagnosed have good control of glycaemia.
I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate the government of Barbados for its longstanding and unwavering commitment to fighting noncommunicable diseases over the past two decades.
But this work is far from over. NCDs still cause more than 8 in 10 deaths in Barbados.
I thank Prime Minister Mottley for her powerful speech at the International Strategic Dialogue on NCDs and the SDGs earlier this month.
This discussion, hosted by WHO and the Governments of Ghana and Norway, established a new Heads of State and Government Group to scale up global action against NCDs. The leadership of Barbados, especially my sister Prime Minister Mottley, is very important.
WHO also looks forward to working closely with Barbados on the upcoming Small Island Developing States technical high level meeting, and the Ministerial Conference on NCDs and Mental Health.
Once again, my deep thanks and respect to all of you for your commitment to the fight against diabetes, and a healthier, safer, future for all Barbadians.
We discussed with Her Excellency the Prime Minister on how we can support this centre, so we will get back to you to discuss the details.
So thank you so much again, this will be a model not only for the region, but the whole world. We will be happy to support you to continue the journey of success.
Thank you so much.