Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 01, 2017 (SKNIS): The Republic of China (Taiwan) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health has launched a one-day training workshop as a summary to the four-week course taught in Taiwan on the prevention and control of chronic kidney disease. Six health professionals from the federation have taken this course thus far, with more to be trained through 2020.
At the workshop held on October 31, at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) conference room, Dr. David Chih-Yu Yang, one of the course professors and attending physicians from the Division of Nephrology at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital summarized what the trainees learned during their course. Health officials from the public and private sectors were invited to attend the workshop.
The Honourable Eugene Hamilton, Minister of Health et tal., thanked Taiwan’s Resident Ambassador, His Excellency George Gow Wei Chiou for the country’s continued support to the nation, especially with respect to health.
“I pause to recognize the government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for their willing partnership. Their experience and expertise will help to build our capacity to effectively and efficiently address our increasing renal failure burden,” he stated.
He explained that these chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’s) are costly, and added that, locally, almost two million dollars went into the treatment of these diseases in 2016.
Minister Hamilton expressed that, in light of the high cost and increased cases of persons with Non-Communicable Diseases, the Government is proactively focusing on “food security, health literacy, health promotion, and health protection.”
He added that, “This Government has been [sending] and continues to send the strongest possible message about, firstly, preventing and, secondly, treating chronic NCD’s.”
Minister Hamilton said that it is of paramount importance that health professionals are continually trained in order to provide the appropriate care to those in need. He added that the project will prove to be instrumental in the training of medical professionals in the federation.
This workshop is a part of the Capacity Building Project for the Prevention and Control of Chronic Kidney Disease, which was launched in April 2017 and is funded by the Taiwanese Government. The project is expected to assist in the planning of effective integrated care strategies and practices, the strengthening of the function of nephrology in the medical care system and improving the community’s self-management ability aimed at the prevention and control of chronic kidney disease.