Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

August 2, 2023 – As diabetes continues to be an ongoing issue globally, the British Virgin Islands Ministry of Health and Social Development is on the move to standardize the care and treatment of people with the non- communicable disease with the launching of guidelines for the management of the disease.

Introduced by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the guidelines are designed to make sure that diabetic people receive the same standard of care despite the healthcare facility they seek. This is according to Ronald Georges, Chief Medical Officer.

He emphasized that the guidelines will enhance the results as well as the lives diabetic people.

“At the Territory level, this will improve outcomes for patients, reduce complications and improve their quality of life while reducing costs and improving health care,” he said.

“We are very excited for the possibilities of this programme,” he later added.

The Ministry will not just stop at launching the guidelines. Georges highlighted that to fortify the guidelines, they will have ceaseless education in the form of Continuing Medical Education, and this will address standardized assessment, care, and treatment for diabetic people.

“We want these guidelines to be seamlessly implemented within our healthcare system.  To do this, our focus will be on offering continuous education sessions, building collaborations with the Diabetes Association and clinicians as well as empowering patients to be more proactive and vested in their own care,” he informed.

The vision going forward, as expressed by Georges, is to reach a point where clinical audits are conducted to ensure that the guidelines are being put into practice and more education and training is being provided where needed to guarantee sustainability.

The Launch of the CARPHA Guidelines for the Management of Diabetes in Primary Care in the Caribbean will take place on Thursday, July 20th at 5:30 p.m. and the venue will be the Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital.

According to CARPHA, “in the Americas, diabetes was recorded as the fourth leading cause of death and disability in 2019. According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas, North America and the Caribbean are ranked 4th in the world, with an age-adjusted comparative diabetes prevalence in adults 20-79 years of age of 11.1%. Projected prevalence in 2030 and 2045 are 12.3% and 13.0%, respectively.”

Additionally, CARPHA described the disease as the “leading silent but most preventable killer in the Caribbean,” and considering this, the soon to be launched guidelines will be a driving force in lowering the death rate of diabetics as well as contributing to the reduction of its prevalence throughout the British Virgin Islands. This can potentially encourage more countries in the region and globally to take further action against the disease.