ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—The legendary former West Indies cricket captain Sir Clive Lloyd appealed to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders on Sunday to focus on combatting prostate cancer as they had done with non-communicable diseases in the past.
Lloyd, one of two people to receive the region’s highest award, the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), during the official opening ceremony of the 47th regional meeting, said he hoped that the same emphasis that was being placed on addressing non-communicable diseases like hypertension and diabetes would be given to prostate cancer.
International data shows that the Caribbean has one of the most significant age-standardized prostate cancer incidences.
“Can I, therefore, plead with the Community and relevant officials that this matter be given urgent attention and action?” said Lloyd, who captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985.
The 79-year-old Guyanese-born said he hoped that CARICOM Health Ministers would pay attention to prostate cancer, adding that he could not recall “that much has been said about it in the region.
“If I am correct, let what I say today be a call to action because every one in four we do contract this illness, and a lot of our people is dying and dying needlessly,” he said, adding, “We need men to go and get tested” to curb the number of deaths from prostate cancer.
He told the ceremony that there are now many other improved ways of testing men over the age of 40 for prostate cancer that are more precise than blood tests, including salivary tests.
Lloyd also proposed, during his address, that the region organize an annual Caribbean cricket fundraiser to garner much-needed cash to respond to the impact of hurricanes and other disasters.
“The Caribbean region can organize a major cricket event, and the best players worldwide should be able to participate in a game per year. I want it to be called the CARICOM Day of Cricket, where we can generate quite a lot of funds so that even if we don’t have a hurricane or two for the year, the money we have there can accrue some interest,” he said.
Lloyd said that even without storm impacts, the money could be spent on addressing other problems.
“I hope that we can get this going, get it off the ground because it will be a very important game, and the money that we can accrue will be very, very important for the rest of the Caribbean,” he said.
In recent times, several Caribbean countries have been hit by hurricanes that are much more ferocious, resulting in deaths and millions of dollars in destruction.
With the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane season, which ends in November, just four weeks old, Hurricane Beryl, a category five storm, left a trail of death and destruction on July 1 as it made its way through Grenada’s dependencies of Carriacou and Petit Martinique and those of St Vincent—Union Island, Bequia, Mayrou, and Canoaun.
Jamaica was also heavily impacted by Beryl. Regional leaders say the hurricanes result from climate change and blame the more developed countries for the situation.
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