10/03/2026
WELLNESS DAY (Friday 27 February 2026)
On this day Palmgrove Medical Clinic & Medigen Laboratories participated in the Wellness Day Event. We offered our services and shared important information to help the community. We thank everyone for coming. If you have any quiries come by the clinic. We would love to see you there. Below is an important message for the public:
NON- COMMUNICABLE DISEASES also Known as NCDs
Theme: Act Now to Stop NCDs
What are NCDs?
These are chronic , slow progressing medical conditions which are not transmitted from person to person. These diseases are the leading cause of death globally and in our country Botswana they account for 58% of all death in adults between the age of 29 to 79 years of age.
They are a huge contributor to mortality. These diseases are silent killers, they threaten the health of the individual slowly without symptoms till the disease had progressed to an advanced stage. Therefore its important that we take action now to prevent these premature deaths, by managing the risk factors of NCDs.
Before I talk about the risk factors of NCS, I would like to mentions the four major NCDs in our country Botswana..
The Four major Non Communicable diseases in Botswana are:
1. Cardiovascular diseases; the most common NCDs and they include Ischaemic Heart disease ( Heart attack), stroke and Hypertension.
2. Cancers- second most common leading cause of death, the common cancers in our setting include Breast cancer and Cervical cancer , other cancers include lung cancer, liver cancer and prostate cancer and colorectal cancers.
3. Diabetes Melittus: The Incidence and prevalence of Diabetes is increasing globally. New case are being diagnosed every day. In our country about 6% of the adult population aged 15-79 years are diabetic. And we are now seeing young people from ages of 15 yrs being diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes.
Elevated glucose levels (hyperglycaemia) is attributed to unhealthy lifestyle, poor diet, obesity, lack of physical activity and long hours of screen time. Diabetes can lead to complications such as damages eyes and blindness, foot ulcers and limb amputation, Kidney disease and kidney failure and yet it can be controlled and reversed. Yes Diabetes can be reversed by lifestyle changes. Let us Act now to beat NCDs
4. Chronic Respiratory diseases:: These include Chronic. COPD and Asthma mainly atributted to to***co smoking and air pollution.
What do we all need to do to stop NCDs?
1. Reduce Salt (Sodium) in take when preparing food and at the table. And also avoid salty foods such as soy sauce, fast foods , let us eat home made meals and avoid processed foods. Research has shown that this reduces the risk of Hypertension.
2. Healthy Eating: Increasing consumption of whole grain foods, vegetables and fruits - this slows down the release of glucose into the blood circulation reducing hyperglycaemia and improves insulin sensitivity which is very important in type 2 Diabetes. We also need to avoid high consumption of animal fats, and we should use plant based oils for cooking our food such as canola oil, sunflower oil and olive oil, this will reduced the risk of high cholesterol in the blood and in turn reduce the risk of developing damaged blood vessels.and therefore can stop NCDs especially Type2 Diabetes and Hypertension, stroke and Heart attacks.
3. Increasing Physical Activity. Daily physical activity such as brisk walking; jogging, cycling and aerobics at least 5 times in a week and 30 minutes each day (that is 150 mins a week) is recommend and is effective in reducing obesity and risk of metabolic diseases such as Diabetes and Hypertension.
4. Losing extra weight: If you are over weight controlling your body weight is indicated to avoid obesity. A Waist to. Height ratio of less than 0.5 is recommended in all populations, Africans, Asians European etc
5. Avoid excessive Alcohol Intake: avoiding harmful use of alcohol reduces risk of CVD and Cancer.what is excessive Alcohol intake? Whisky, 1 tot; Larger 2 cans; Red wine 1 glass in 24 hours., anything more is excessive/ harmful intake.
6. Avoid To***co Smoking Cessation of to***co smoking is a single most important factor which reduces the risk of all 4 NCDs COPD, CVD, HPT, DM and lung Cancer and Cervical cancer.. If you are a smoker See your GP for a Quit Smoking programme.
7. Health monitoring: Regular Health check -ups with your doctor or local clinic for early diagnosis of NCD is very important. Once a year full medical check up is recommended.
8. Hypertension and Diabetes Melittus follow your doctors advice on adherence to chronic medication and follow up visits
9. Breast Cancer: All women above 40 years or younger if family history of Breast cancer to do routine mammogram ( Breast X-ray) every two years.
10. Cervical Cancer: all women 16-65 years of age to do Papsmear screening test every two years.
11. Prostate Cancer: All men 45 years and above to do routine screening for Prostate cancer. A simple PSA test.
Conclusion: 4 key take home points to stop NCDs
1.Early detection and screening for hypertension, diabetes and cancer for all persons above 30 years of age is important to stop NCDs.
2.using primary health care clinics for screening and treatment of NCDs is more affordable than specialist care.
3.Lifestyle modification, smoking cessation, avoid harmful alcohol intake, eating a healthy diet and increasing physical activity to control metabolic diseases is key to stop NCDs
4. Long-term management of chronic conditions, adherence to Blood pressure and glucose lowering medication.
These individual health lifestyle changes will translate into healthy individuals and a healthy productive community.
Thank you all.
