Sir Molwyn: China trip opened doorway to innovative ways to treatment NCD’s

Health Minister, Sir Molwyn Joseph, says he is excited about the opportunities that
the visit to the People’s Republic of China offered to learn about new and
innovative approaches to treat many of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’s)
and cancers that affect segments of the Antigua and Barbuda society.
Sir Molwyn was a member of the official delegation of Antigua and Barbuda, led
by Prime minister Gaston Browne, which returned Monday from a 10-day tour of
China.
“What excited me in China was the opportunity to learn more of what is already
there in terms of science and technology in dealing with so many of the diseases
that are taking the lives of Antiguans and Barbudans, such as diabetes. I was blown
away when we visited a hospital and we were able to see a piece of equipment that
no only diagnosed the patient at the end stage of the disease, but it is an equipment
that can forecast the disease,” he noted
The health minister says the Chinese approach to health care was very revealing as
unlike here in Antigua and Barbuda where there is what he termed ‘sick and care’
where a person is treated only after they become sick, the Chinese approach is to
develop ways to prevent sickness by early detection.
“They have the equipment that gives them that capacity, not only for diabetes but
for cancer screening. There is a new technology which we were fully exposed to,
where dealing with cancer would be like dealing with a vaccine. They are saying
that they are working on a vaccine that can prevent cancer. Not only that, they are
giving the body the ability to fight cancer,” he exclaimed.
According to Sir Molwyn he was informed by the Chinese officials that this
technology is about two years away from being ready for human trials and Antigua
and Barbuda would be first in line to get access to this new technology for the
Caribbean region, once it is ready for general use.
The environment minister also reported that in the area of climate resilience,
Antigua and Barbuda will see an acceleration in moving towards renewable energy
with the assistance of the Chinese who are developing the technologies to harness
solar power for everyday use in a manner that is both affordable and accessible.