Minister of Health, Donville Inniss (right),??accepts the donation on behalf of the BNR from Group Chief Executive Officer of BS&T, Anthony King.

A shot in the arm is what the Barbados National Registry for Chronic Non-communicable Disease (BNR) received today when a representative of the Barbados Shipping and Trading (BS&T) presented them with a donation of $25,000.

The monies will be disbursed in $5,000 tranches, over the next five years.??

Minister of Health, Donville Inniss, in accepting the cheque said: "The BNR is an extremely important part of the Ministry of Health’s drive to improve upon the collection of information and the better management of chronic non-communicable diseases in Barbados."

Stating that Chronic Non-communicable Diseases (CNCDs) currently consumed in excess of 60 percent of the budgets of both the Barbados Drug Service and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mr. Inniss said: "Certainly that is a lot of money we are spending in respect of CNCDs in Barbados".

While explaining that the work of the BNR would place the country in a better position to analsye these illnesses and enhance preventative methods and other interventions that would result in a better quality of life for Barbadians, the Health Minister noted: "We cannot do it alone and therefore we are very grateful for the contribution of BS&T."??

Group Chief Executive Officer of BS&T, Anthony King, said his organisation, had from the inception of the Chronic Disease Research Centre, supported "the need for research and monitoring and having a much better understanding about diseases" and how they originated within our communities.

Noting that BS&T was happy to continue to provide support for the registry, he said, "I hope that our participation in doing this is going to encourage others in the private sector to provide the support."

Meanwhile, Director of the CDRC, Professor Anselm Hennis, under whose leadership the BNR falls, acknowledged that BS&T had been a strong supporter of the Centre.

He said: "The contribution by BS&T represents an on-going commitment to improving the well-being of our community… we see this also as a way to set the way for other public/private sector collaborations ."

The BNR, which was officially opened in March, is a tripartite registry which comprises a stroke registry that is fully operational; a heart disease registry which is currently being piloted and a cancer registry which is due to come on stream in the future.

jgill@barbados.gov.bb

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