SOCIAL SECTOR INVESTMENT PROGRAMME
144
SUSTAINING GROWTH, SECURING PROSPERITY
CHAPTER 6: SOCIAL SECTOR PLANS FOR 2014
1. P
REVENTION
,
CARE
AND
TREATMENT OF
CHRONIC NON
-
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
(CNCD
S
)
• Reducing Modifiable Risk Factors for
CNCDs
The Ministry will address the findings of the
CNCD Risk Factor Survey which was completed
in 2012.
• Reducing Childhood Obesity
The Survey confirmed that there has been a
significant increase in childhood obesity over
the years. The Ministry aims to reduce the
current 25% overweight and obese school age
population by 6% by 2015.
• Reducing Modifiable Risk Factors in the
Adult Population
The Ministry will seek to reduce in the following
risk factors in the adult population: number of
overweight adults from the baseline of 55.5%
in 2012 to 50%; elevated blood pressure from
25.5% to 18%; elevated blood sugar levels from
20.5% to 15%; and sedentary persons in the
population from 45.4% to 36%.
In addition, the Ministry of Health will continue
to implement the World Health Organisation’s
(WHO’s) strategy on Diet, Physical Activity
and Health, including the implementation
of a national “Healthy Eating, Active Living”
campaign, commonly referred to as the “Fight
the Fat” campaign.
• Empowering Communities to Achieve
Health and Well Being
The Ministry has identified the empowerment
of the population to make healthy choices as
one of the core strategies for improving the
health of the population, whilst at the same time
reducing hospital care and minimising health
care expenditure. To this end, the Ministry will,
over the 2014 fiscal year, intensify its efforts to
empower the population at the community level.
• Treatment of CNCDs
The Ministry proposes to expand the volume
of dialysis treatment that is available to the
population. This would be achieved through
the public hospitals expansion and upgrade,
which would ensure that more dialysis sessions
are provided at these institutions. The Ministry
will also seek to increase the volume of cardiac
services that is available to the population.
2. P
REVENTION
,
CARE
AND
TREATMENT OF
COMMUNICABLE DISEASE
The strategic objective of the Ministry is to
reduce morbidity and mortality rates from
infectious diseases by 50% by 2015. Over fiscal
year 2014 the Ministry will give special attention
to the following:
• HIV/AIDS
The Ministry is seeking to halt by 2015 and begin
to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS in Trinidad
and Tobago, and to achieve by 2016, universal
access (at least 80% of eligible PLHIV) to
treatment (care and support) for all those who
need it.
• Tuberculosis (TB)
The resurgence of TB globally has been linked
to HIV epidemic over the last decades. The
advances made in treating with the HIV virus
would therefore positively impact the Ministry’s
efforts at addressing TB, and meeting the
strategic objective of reducing morbidity and
mortality rates for tuberculosis by 50% by
2015. To this end, the Ministry will continue its
expansion of the TB/DOTS (Directly Observed
Treatment Short course) programme in fiscal
2014.
