The writing has been on the wall for a long time and yet no one heeded. A large section of the Mauritian population is carrying a time bomb in their chests and the absence of corrective measures may unleash havoc. In fact, this havoc is already here and may stay for a long while. Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and sudden death are now taking their toll both in the male and female population. Employers and investors may soon start to feel the pinch in terms of absenteeism, loss of production and early loss of qualified, experienced and gifted manpower.

Mauritian women are not spared and have set a world record in so far as they represent 40% of cardiac patients whereas, in Europe and America, we have 90% males and 10% females suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

This high rate of heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure is due to hereditary factors, inborn, and triggered by the environment, way of life, high-calorie diet and a very high dose of stress.

However, those at high risk and those who have already contracted the disease are flouting all medical advice. Awareness campaigns against these non-communicable diseases are not giving results. So says the ministry of Health.

If this finding by the ministry is right, then it heralds a new attitude that the population may have adopted of late. And it may mean that some of the factors that have contributed to the “Mauritian Miracle” are fast eroding.

Any serious ethnological or social studies into that “miracle” will inevitably bring researchers back to the 50s when mass media were not that developed. During these years a group of volunteers started a door-to-door campaign to convince the population of the dire necessity of planned parenthood for the well-being of each and every family and for the island’s future. These volunteers were the first to be surprised when the family planning culture made a great leap forward among the less educated masses in Mauritius. We soon became the example to be followed by the African continent. It was the first “Mauritian miracle”.

Fed with the right convincing information, the Mauritian population has always resorted to action and corrective measures. The responsiveness of the population has always been amazing and the history of our development is sprinkled with examples of immediate responsiveness.

Those who graduated from high school in the late sixties will no doubt remember how the student population shifted abruptly from humanities to scientific subjects when debates centred on the necessity of scientific studies for the development of the country. The Royal Colleges found themselves suddenly with a class of only three students for classical studies while classes offering Chemistry, Physics and Maths were full to bursting.

The Mauritian population is indeed an “admirable nation” and it is difficult to beleive that this is no longer the case. The responsiveness of workers during our rapid industrialisation phase was also amazing.

Is the population not responding to the ministry’s awareness campaign, or is the message not loud enough? Or is it because of a lack of systematic and consistent actions by the ministry and the private sector? The ministry of Health and its cardiac centre have so far had a very modern, proactive and innovative approach to problems.

A study of the awareness campaign carried on up to now and the reason why the response is so weak is a priority. It would be indeed a pity if the ministry, having noted the absence of response, stops at this point. It would be lethal for the country.