Prime Minister and Minister of Health, Dr. Terrance Drew, has renewed his call for citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis to adopt healthier lifestyles in response to the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Federation.
Speaking during the National Assembly on Friday, 21st March, Dr. Drew, a trained medical doctor, used the platform not only to commend the passing of the Plastic Waste Reduction Bill (2025) but also to highlight the growing impact of lifestyle-related illnesses across the nation.
“There are a number of things that are killing our people here in St. Kitts and Nevis and throughout the Caribbean. These are the non-communicable chronic diseases: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and now cancer,” the Prime Minister stated.
Dr. Drew pointed out that cancer has overtaken other ailments to become the leading cause of death in the Federation. He emphasised that many of these illnesses are preventable and are fueled by unhealthy lifestyles, particularly poor dietary choices.
“We have abandoned what we call the holistic way of eating because we felt that that way of life was akin to being poor and impoverished. So, we have left the ground provisions and substituted them with white rice and processed flour. The very food that the elites in the north are avoiding is the very food that we are embracing as food to represent some sort of advancement in our societal structure,” Dr. Drew lamented.
According to global and regional data, NCDs account for over 70% of all deaths worldwide. The Caribbean is disproportionately affected, with NCDs responsible for 80.7% of deaths in the Americas. In 2019 alone, more than 2.1 million people under the age of 70 in the Americas died prematurely due to NCDs.
The Prime Minister underscored the economic impact of unhealthy living, noting that the costs of treating chronic diseases often outweigh the perceived savings from cheap, unhealthy foods.
“When you eat this type of food, Madam Speaker, and I’m coming to plastics, you get sick, and all the money that you save in about two, three months—when you get a serious disease—all of it is gone. You get cancer, all of it is gone. You get heart disease, all of it is gone. You get a stroke, you see how quickly that money disappears. It is because of this lifestyle that we live here in St. Kitts and Nevis. So, I want to encourage us to really be a little bit more mindful and to know that it is not only healthier and happier to eat well, but it’s also cheaper as well,” the Health Minister warned.
In addition to continuous heavy investments in the health sector, the Labour administration has also ramped up awareness campaigns to combat non-communicable diseases.
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