Govt finalising debt swap for health

Government is moving to finalise a debt-for-social swap targeting health, as it confronts an escalating non-communicable disease (NCD) crisis in which 42 per cent of Barbados’ children are reportedly overweight or obese.

Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn disclosed the initiative in the House of Assembly on Tuesday during debate on the Tissue Transplant Bill, 2026, saying discussions would focus on changing Barbadians’ behaviour and health-seeking practices.

“Just today, over the next couple of days, the Government of Barbados will be meeting on a mission to finalise aspects of the debt-for-social swap, which will focus on health, and a specific focus on how are we able to change behaviours and healthseeking practices in Barbados,” he said.

Straughn warned that unless the country got its School Nutrition Policy right, overweight and obese children were at risk of progressing towards serious NCDs and facing lifelong medical expenses.

“Recently, we were told that 42 per cent of our children are either overweight or obese. Therefore, that number, basically one in every two, means that if we do not get the School Nutrition Policy right, that those children will just be the feedstock on the NCD trail,” he said.

The minister told the House Barbados had to view NCDs as part of the cost-of-living crisis, since affected households faced expenditure on insulin, blood pressure medication, dialysis, repeated doctor visits and transportation for treatment.

He said those expenses were accompanied by significant physical and emotional costs for patients and their families.

Affordability issues

“When we speak of the cost of living, we tend to focus on food prices, we tend to focus on electricity, gas prices and those types of everyday, as we would call it, going into the market and affordability issues.

“But Barbados has been faced with an NCD crisis that also reflects the actual cost of living, because . . . NCDs, as you and I both know are, for the most part, lifestyle diseases, which means that we get to determine the severity with which we are afflicted with these diseases.”

Straughn said the transplantation legislation would provide another treatment option for people already suffering from serious illness, but Government’s wider objective was to reduce the number who reached the stage of requiring an organ transplant.

He said the ministries of Health, Education and Agriculture would work with nutritionists to aggressively reduce childhood obesity and improve health outcomes.

He cautioned that passing the legislation was only the beginning, with Government now required to build public trust, encourage organ donation and counter misinformation.

“We’ve given people hope. We now have to deliver. This is a whole-of-country educational approach that we now must dispel any misinformation or anything that might be put out there that could dissuade Barbadians from making a decision that could be to their benefit in the long term.”

Straughn said more community screening programmes would be introduced, while greater effort would be made to encourage men to get medical check-ups and take responsibility for their health.

He also pointed to demographic pressures confronting the health care system, saying it was estimated that half of Barbados’ population would be over 65 by 2050.

“If half the population is going to be over 65, and we have almost one in two of our minor population being overweight and obese, then it means that we have at two ends of the spectrum some issues and challenges that we have to address.”

(CLM)

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