HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton told more than 300 members of the Jamaican Diaspora in New York on Saturday that the COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst, but not the only cause of most of the approximately seven million deaths linked to COVID-19 over the past two and a half years.

Rather, he said, most of these deaths resulted from compromised immune systems due to lifestyle-related illnesses like diabetes, lung diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular complications.

“This should cause us all to see lifestyle diseases as an even bigger threat to life than the COVID virus. We must do more to change lifestyle practices to address high mortality rates this now causes,” Tufton said.

Dr Tufton, who was guest speaker at the LJDR Davis Foundation fund-raising charity gala, said approximately 40 million people die each year from these type of ailments, and many more live with severe pain. More effort, he added, is needed to support healthy lifestyle practices like proper nutrition, exercise and rest.

The health minister told the audience that partnership in providing a holistic solution to healthy living is the way forward. He said that apart from proper nutrition, exercise and rest, there is evidence to indicate that volunteerism is both a source of support for those in need as well as a source of therapy for those who give.

Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness, he said, was ready to welcome partnerships in public health as “we believe and support the one world, one health philosophy”.

The LJDR Foundation, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, has had several missions to Jamaica supporting a number of health-related projects, including the renovation of the Chapleton Hospital and the provision of health-care outreach for residents of Brandon Hill in northern Clarendon.