Death comes in many guises
No one can escape the icy cold hand of death, but the untimely demise of Ceylon Workers’ Congress leader and Minister Arumugam Thondaman, 56, has come as a shock and diminished many. Our hearts go out to the family of the late minister, his friends and party members.
Thondaman’s death, which has occurred while all eyes are on the Covid-19 mortality and morbidity rates, both global and local, serves as a reminder that the Grim Reaper comes in various guises, Covid-19 being only one of them. Everything possible has to be done to beat the highly contagious virus, which has crippled the entire world and killed hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, but we must stay focused on preventing deaths due to other diseases as well as mishaps.
Lockdowns and curfews have saved many lives not only from Covid-19 but also from killer drivers who have no concern for others’ safety. Coronavirus has killed only 10 people so far, in this country, and most of them were suffering from various other diseases and, therefore, in the high-risk group. But for the national health emergency which left public roads almost deserted for weeks, precious lives would have been lost at the rate of at least eight a day in accidents.
Thondaman is reported to have died of a heart attack. Such untimely deaths due to preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are common in this country. NCDs are among the top 10 causes of premature deaths, here. Globally, they kill about 15 million people between 30 and 69 years, annually, and 80% of these deaths occur in the developing countries, according to the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. NCDs account for about three fourths of deaths, here.
NCDs are linked to poverty, among other things, as health experts have pointed out, and they lead to serious public health, economic and social problems, especially in countries with ageing populations. Public health statistics reveal that between 1981 and 2012 the median age of Sri Lankan population increased from 21.3 to 31, and it is expected to reach 39.6, in 2031, and 46.5 in 2086, with the number of people above 60 years doubling. We are one of the fastest growing ageing populations in Asia. Sri Lankans’ life expectancy at birth is 74.9, according to some Health Ministry publications including the one co-edited by former Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, but the healthy life expectancy at birth is reported to be only 67 years.
As for poverty, which predisposes people to NCDs, the situation is far from satisfactory in this country, where the poverty head count stands at 4.1%. The current official poverty line is reportedly a little over Rs. 5,000.
The World Health Organisation has warned that humans will have to learn to live with Covid-19. One can only hope that the virus will become less virulent with the passage of time. Sri Lanka now has one more intractable problem to contend with while trying to bring down the high incidence of NCDs. The elimination of the key drivers of the NCDs does not seem to be in the realm of possibility, some of them being the ageing population, marketing and trade and rapid urbanisation.
Sri Lanka has set for itself 10 targets in its battle against the NCDs; they include reducing alcohol consumption, increasing physical activity, curtailing salt consumption, preventing tobacco use, ensuring access to NCD medicines and technologies, adopting a total risk approach in preventing heart attacks and strokes, reducing the incidence of obesity and diabetes, tackling indoor air pollution and tackling hypertension.
Covid-19 has eclipsed all other serious health issues. The previously mentioned targets are difficult but they must be achieved if the rate of unfortunate deaths like Minister Thondaman’s is to be brought down.
No one can escape the icy cold hand of death, but the untimely demise of Ceylon Workers’ Congress leader and Minister Arumugam Thondaman, 56, has come as a shock and diminished many. Our hearts go out to the family of the late minister, his friends and party members.
Thondaman’s death, which has occurred while all eyes are on the Covid-19 mortality and morbidity rates, both global and local, serves as a reminder that the Grim Reaper comes in various guises, Covid-19 being only one of them. Everything possible has to be done to beat the highly contagious virus, which has crippled the entire world and killed hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, but we must stay focused on preventing deaths due to other diseases as well as mishaps.
Lockdowns and curfews have saved many lives not only from Covid-19 but also from killer drivers who have no concern for others’ safety. Coronavirus has killed only 10 people so far, in this country, and most of them were suffering from various other diseases and, therefore, in the high-risk group. But for the national health emergency which left public roads almost deserted for weeks, precious lives would have been lost at the rate of at least eight a day in accidents.
Thondaman is reported to have died of a heart attack. Such untimely deaths due to preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are common in this country. NCDs are among the top 10 causes of premature deaths, here. Globally, they kill about 15 million people between 30 and 69 years, annually, and 80% of these deaths occur in the developing countries, according to the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. NCDs account for about three fourths of deaths, here.
NCDs are linked to poverty, among other things, as health experts have pointed out, and they lead to serious public health, economic and social problems, especially in countries with ageing populations. Public health statistics reveal that between 1981 and 2012 the median age of Sri Lankan population increased from 21.3 to 31, and it is expected to reach 39.6, in 2031, and 46.5 in 2086, with the number of people above 60 years doubling. We are one of the fastest growing ageing populations in Asia. Sri Lankans’ life expectancy at birth is 74.9, according to some Health Ministry publications including the one co-edited by former Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, but the healthy life expectancy at birth is reported to be only 67 years.
As for poverty, which predisposes people to NCDs, the situation is far from satisfactory in this country, where the poverty head count stands at 4.1%. The current official poverty line is reportedly a little over Rs. 5,000.
The World Health Organisation has warned that humans will have to learn to live with Covid-19. One can only hope that the virus will become less virulent with the passage of time. Sri Lanka now has one more intractable problem to contend with while trying to bring down the high incidence of NCDs. The elimination of the key drivers of the NCDs does not seem to be in the realm of possibility, some of them being the ageing population, marketing and trade and rapid urbanisation.
Sri Lanka has set for itself 10 targets in its battle against the NCDs; they include reducing alcohol consumption, increasing physical activity, curtailing salt consumption, preventing tobacco use, ensuring access to NCD medicines and technologies, adopting a total risk approach in preventing heart attacks and strokes, reducing the incidence of obesity and diabetes, tackling indoor air pollution and tackling hypertension.
Covid-19 has eclipsed all other serious health issues. The previously mentioned targets are difficult but they must be achieved if the rate of unfortunate deaths like Minister Thondaman’s is to be brought down.
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