By Anesta Henry

Style met substance on Friday, as young males and the young at heart descended on the corner of Villa Road and Warner’s Road, Brittons Hill, for a fresh haircut and a healthy perspective on life. 

Amid the celebration of style and camaraderie, there was a poignant reminder of the ongoing prevalence of HIV/AIDS in society.

Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey, took centre stage at the annual “Man Aware (Free Haircuts)” event. With his own close-cropped coiffure setting the tone, made an impassioned appeal to citizens to embrace safe sexual practices as a way of life. As he stood at a popular community junction, his message echoed: “HIV is still very real. It is still very prevalent.”

The event attracted children to get a fresh trim for back to school. But beyond the cool haircuts, it was a chance to interact with professionals who shared age-appropriate information about HIV/AIDS. It was a unique opportunity for the younger generation to learn about responsible living in a fun and engaging way.

While the Ministry of Health and Wellness is yet to reveal the latest statistics on Barbados’ HIV/AIDS prevalence, Humphrey said the Ministry of People Empowerment was playing its role as it relates to educating Barbadians about the importance of engaging in healthy sexual practices.

He said: “The numbers we have are from 2020. But I do think that regardless of the numbers, the truth is that it is clear to me that we have to be able to engage in sexual practices that are healthy.

“I think that a lot of people think that HIV is no longer there, and a lot of people are behaving as if HIV is no longer real. In many cases, because of the medication that you now have, it has gone from being a life-depriving illness to almost a chronic illness; it is still very prevalent.”

Encouraging Barbadians to get tested to know their HIV/AIDS status,  Humphrey suggested that a person who knows they have a clean bill of health would refrain from engaging in unhealthy sexual practices.

People who have tested positive for HIV/AIDS would be aware that they must make the move to access medication, he added.

The Man Aware event went beyond haircuts by offering health check-ups, including blood pressure and sugar level assessments, in partnership with the Livewell Clinic. Humphrey highlighted the significance of these tests, emphasising that early detection can prevent life-altering non-communicable diseases.

“We are also working with the Livewell Clinic to be able to do health checks so that people can get their blood pressure checks and their sugar level checks to see if they are pre-diabetic or diabetic. This health check is one of the things that I think is going to be very important for the ministry.

“I think it is very important because a number of Barbadians are dealing with non-communicable issues, some of them becoming life-depriving in circumstances where they could be avoided if we get early testing and if we continue to do the things we are supposed to do, like eat right and make healthy choices. So, I want to thank the HIV/AIDS Commission for this work. I want to thank them for their constant advocacy, but I also feel like the time has come for Barbadians to recognise that the health choices we make in terms of what we eat also have consequences.”

The “Man Aware (Free Haircuts)” event, a blend of fashion and substance, continues to make its mark – one stylish haircut at a time – on Saturday at the Child Care Board, Cheapside, The City. 

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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Again, the Hugo Mendoza pediatric hospital had an admission of 92 children under 15 years of age, and the Robert Reid Cabral hospital had 65 admitted. This is happening while the flow through the emergencies is being maintained.

Dr. Yocasta Lara, director of the National Health Service hospital network, offered the information. She assures that most of the provinces are without admissions. As the authorities call it, the epidemic is concentrated in Greater Santo Domingo, the National District, La Vega, Santiago, and Barahona.

The Marcelino Velez hospital yesterday had 17 patients admitted for dengue fever, the Jacinto Mañon, 07,5, and the Arturo Grullon hospital in Santiago had 18 patients admitted.

Situation
More than 7,000 cases of the disease have been registered in the country, but a high underreporting suggests a higher number of people affected. Authorities are investigating ten deaths due to dengue, and six have been confirmed. The population is urged to avoid mosquito breeding sites.

The disease
Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The mosquito lays its eggs, which develop into larvae and reproduce. Entomologists study its behavior.

This is an epidemic year, so authorities have called the population to avoid mosquito breeding sites. They are asking people to clean gardens and areas with trees.

This week, Dr. Eladio Perez, Vice Minister of Collective Health, said that the indicators in the country remain well below those of other countries in the Americas region, thanks to the interventions being carried out.

He also presented the behavior of dengue to the 35th Epidemiological Week, where he detailed that currently, 3,123 cases were reported as suspected, and in the last week, they reported 1,093 six deaths.

President of the Barbados Alzheimer’s Association Pamelia Brereton has suggested that Barbadians need to be more proactive and vigilant when placing their elderly family members in senior citizens’ homes.

Noting that she has received complaints from some people about bad treatment of their elderly relatives at nursing homes, Brereton said relatives had a responsibility to check out these facilities before admission and to check on their family members often after they got in.

“Check out the care home properly; don’t just decide to drop mom or dad off at any old care home. You have the right to check to make sure that the facility or institution is going to be able to provide the care that you are paying for,” she said at the Alzheimer’s Month seminar at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) on Wednesday.

“A lot of people would call me sometimes and say, ‘I put them there, but yet they are not doing this, or they are not doing that’. But sometimes, I want to remind you, that is your fault because if you are putting someone in a care home and sometimes you are only going to visit that person once or twice a week or sometimes never, you expect them to get the care that you want them to get? So it’s important to make sure that when you put mom or dad in a home, you visit.”

Brereton said it was important for families caring for persons diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia to know what resources are available to them. Additionally, she said, caregivers should let their neighbours and people in their communities know if someone living in their household has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be shy, don’t hide it. I always say that people tend to hide their diseases, but in the end, you can’t hide death. So cut that out and start facing reality. Friends need to know; health facilities need to know; our polyclinics need to know; the hospitals need to know; the nursing homes need to know; the National Assistance Board, the Welfare Department, all these people need to know. 

“Family members also need to realise that . . . they will need a break; they will need some home help – a good daycare – for persons they are caring for; they would need trained personnel. Some people with Alzheimer’s go through seven stages, and we need to be aware of how the disease unfolds, which will help persons who are caregivers,” Brereton said.

She shared that dementia is now an epidemic worldwide, with 55 million people affected and experts predicting that number will increase to 155 million by 2050.

“The region itself has about 328 000, and by 2050 that is going to triple. More doctors will be needed and more nurses will be needed. This is one of the most heartbreaking diseases that I have ever witnessed,” she said.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Jehu Wiltshire highlighted the reality that the older people live, the greater their chance of developing dementia.

He said this was the reason behind the Government’s commitment to providing the necessary resources to meet the needs of an ageing population. 

(AH)

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View the full post Sandals Foundation and Great Shape! Inc. surpass 1,000 Smiles Target on NOW Grenada.

A name synonymous with children’s health in Barbados for more than three decades is now attached to the post of chairperson of the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition (BCOP Coalition).

Professor Anne St John, a consultant paediatrician, children’s health advocate, and the lead policy champion for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB) and the BCOP Coalition, will be at the helm of the organisation for the 2023-2024 period.

She was elected at a BCOP Coalition Workshop last Wednesday.

“I am humbled to have been elected to the position of Chair of the BCOP Coalition, being quite aware that it carries a tremendous sense of purpose, with high expectations towards the accomplishment of the goals set by the organisation in relation to healthy nutrition and lifestyles, especially related to children of the nation,” Professor St John said after her election.

The BCOP Coalition has a membership of 30 civil society organisations, in addition to individual members and youth advocates, all with the singular goal of advocating for the suite of policies identified by the World Health Organisation to decrease the alarming levels of childhood obesity in countries like Barbados. About 31 per cent of children in Barbados are obese or overweight.

BCOP Coalition pointed out that Professor St John has been a very hands-on advocate and champion for childhood obesity prevention from the beginning of the Childhood Obesity Prevention Project in 2018, sensitising policymakers, parents, children, principals, teachers and staff at various schools around the island. 

It added that especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, her voice and reasoning became linked to the School Nutrition Policy which has generated much interest across Barbados. 

Now, looking forward to the implementation of other evidence-based policies like the use of octagonal front-of-package warning labels, which can simultaneously assist in reducing the levels of childhood obesity in Barbados, she said: “The right to know what are the ingredients in what we consume goes hand in hand with the adaptation, intervention and use of octagonal front-of-package warning labels (O-FOPWL) on consumables, assisting consumers in making healthy choices of food and drink.”

Programme Manager of the Childhood Obesity Prevention Project for HSFB Francine Charles said it was an honour for the BCOP Coalition to be led by one of the most ardent voices for children’s health in Barbados.

She said Professor St John “has a passion and a voice to ensure children in Barbados have optimal health and we have watched her advocate effectively to every possible audience, so we are heartened to work with her as chair of the Coalition”. (PR)

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Black Knight Bikers and other bikers in Barbados joined forces on the weekend to assist Joann Hall, a social worker at the Ministry of Education, as she continues her battle with rheumatoid arthritis which has already caused her to have knee replacement and be under medication for pain relief.

The group of bikers joined a charity walk that began at Esso in Paynes Bay, St James and ended at Folkestone Marine Park in the same parish, where they socialised with other people who walked in honour of Hall.

She has dedicated 20-plus years of her life to ensuring that children under her charge receive the best level of education possible.

President of the Black Knight Bikers Fabian Reeves said club members were pleased to lend support to the initiative, noting that when Hall was fully on her feet, she worked with various agencies to get financial support and placement for children at schools that cater to their learning styles, and advocated for abused and underprivileged students.

“When we heard of this walk, we immediately said this is something we need to affiliate ourselves with since we value the work of people in the education system who advocate for children who are abused, especially if they are bullied,” Reeves said.

Vice president of the bikers group, Kevin Wickham echoed those sentiments and said he wanted to see more charities give back to causes like this.

In accepting the monetary donation from the bikers, Hall said because the condition has now affected her hip, she needs to raise as much money as she can to assist with surgery. Her initial target is $50 000. (PR)

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Caribbean Wellness Day 2023 will be commemorated with a month-long celebration under the overall theme for the 5 year period, “Power Through Collective Action”

View the full post Caribbean Wellness Day 2023 on NOW Grenada.

Santo Domingo.- The clinical symptoms of dengue can be confused with other diseases ranging from leptospirosis to hepatitis, which is why it is important to perform a comprehensive medical evaluation of the patient and laboratory tests.

This is what the infectologist Elianet Castillo, from the Centro Médico de Diabetes, Obesidad y Especialidades (CEMDOE) warns when referring to the current epidemic outbreak of dengue that is affecting the country and that is leading to a high demand for medical attention.

The specialist explained that it is important to know that dengue is characterized by symptoms of fever, headache, retro ocular pain, general malaise, rash, joint pain and muscle pain.

These symptoms and signs, he said, can be confused with other diseases that are also part of the country’s local epidemiology, such as malaria, chikungunya, zika and leptospirosis,” he explained.

He explained that when the patient with dengue presents alarm signs such as nausea, persistent vomiting and abdominal pain it could represent a challenge because it could also be confused with other infectious diseases affecting the gastrointestinal system such as hepatitis or inflammation of specific organs such as the gall bladder (cholecystitis) and the appendix (appendicitis).

Malaria and Leptospirosis

Castillo pointed out that in the case of malaria, chikungunya and zika, they also present with fever. “Generally, compared to dengue, they do not cause as many alterations at the hematological level and do not usually cause as much morbi-mortality.”

He said that leptospirosis, which usually increases its incidence after heavy rains and floods, can present symptoms very similar to dengue, and being a bacterial disease requires treatment with antibiotics to prevent progression to its terminal stage called Weil’s syndrome where severe kidney and liver damage occurs, reaching a 50% mortality rate.

This shows, added the specialist, the importance of a comprehensive medical evaluation and the performance of the necessary laboratories to reach an accurate diagnosis and thus speed up the appropriate treatment of the patient.

Santo Domingo.- The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Daniel Rivera, together with the provincial authorities of the ministry, led this Saturday a day of fumigation and decacharrización in various neighborhoods of the Gurabo sector, north of this municipality, as a prevention against dengue and other vector-borne diseases such as leptospirosis.

The activity, organized by the Provincial Directorate One, directed by Dr. Adalberto Peña, included the communities of Los Platanitos, La Chichigua, Los Cajuiles, streets 7, 19, 20, and a part of the Gurabo River, among others, where there have been some suspected cases of dengue.

Minister Rivera said that on instructions from President Luis Abinader and Vice President Raquel Peña, Public Health continues to work on the prevention and promotion of programs to combat diseases and that, thanks to this effort, in the country at this time there are no reports of cases of Zika and Chikungunya, while leptospirosis and cholera are controlled.

Rivera called on the population to cooperate with the authorities by covering their tanks at home by smearing chlorine to avoid breeding the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue.

He also thanked the president of the Dominican Municipal League (LMD), Víctor D’Aza, the mayor of La Vega and president of the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (Fedomu), Kelvin Cruz, so that the municipalities are integrated into the conference and contribute to the cleaning, eliminating improvised landfills where water accumulates and the mosquito is produced.

Rivera also highlighted the work, dedication, dedication, and effort of doctors, nurses, and epidemiologists in each preventive day carried out by the Ministry of Health throughout the country.

“An uncovered water tank can produce up to 120 mosquitoes per day, which would be difficult to control,” said the official, who added that the epidemiological fence will be maintained for at least four more weeks until the temperature change occurs.

The minister and president of the Health Cabinet recalled that dengue is endemic in the country and the Americas. He said the disease had been declared a WHO and PAHO alert for the El Niño phenomenon and global warming, increasing the highest incidence of the disease in countries such as Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, which have suffered remarkable historical elevations.

In addition to Minister Rivera and the provincial manager One, Adalberto Peña, the regional director of Health, Dr. Virgilio Gutiérrez, the person in charge of DPS 3, Dr. Carolina Núñez and the professional and technical team of DPS 2, representing Dr. Pedro Felipe, they participated in the day.

Lethality and suspected cases

The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Daniel Rivera, explained that the lethality of dengue cases in the country is currently 0.04%, a low proportion compared to last year for the same date. He said the most significant concern of detected issues is registered in Santo Domingo Norte. About Santiago, the official indicated that this province does not have a high incidence. He reported that until this Saturday, 26 cases had been said, that is, half that occurred last year about the disease.

Vulnerable population

Minister Rivera reported that the population most vulnerable to contracting dengue are people between 9 and 19 years old, especially those previously suffering from the disease.

He said that the mosquito that transmits the dengue virus attacks more in the lower limbs because it is always under the table and bed. He noted that the mosquito is more attracted to the person with type O blood.

Zero self-medication

Rivera urged people who present fever during this epidemiological alert not to self-medicate and go to public and private health centers, where he said there are specialists trained to provide service. He recalled that going to the doctor promptly prevents severe cases and deaths.

The most significant number of admissions is at the Hugo Mendoza pediatric hospital, with 93 children in bed, while the Robert Reid Cabral hospital had 51 as of yesterday afternoon. In the emergency rooms of public and private centers, cases of sick people are constantly arriving. Other hospitals with a high influx of patients are the General de la Plaza de la Salud, with 38 patients admitted, and the Ramon de Lara military hospital, with ten adults admitted.

According to health authorities, the country is going through an epidemic outbreak of dengue fever, which has registered more than six thousand cases. However, historically, the disease has been underreported by more than 50%.

Other hospitals with patients admitted for dengue are Rodolfo de la Cruz Lora, with 20 patients; Juan Bosch, with 15, Boca Chica, with 15 more, El Almirante, with 10 and 12 at Marcelino Velez Santana.

Interventions continue
The Ministry of Public Health reported that it continues to carry out an extensive operation against cases of dengue fever in Santo Domingo North. The highest incidence of the viral disease is felt in Santo Domingo, the National District, La Vega, San Cristóbal, and Barahona. For the past few weeks, fumigation and pest control operations have increased in the municipality of Santo Domingo Norte to mitigate the cases of dengue fever registered in this district and surrounding areas. Everyone’s participation is required.

The operation seeks to prevent the spread of dengue fever through the mosquito breeding sites that generate waste and debris accumulated in yards and plots of land. The process was carried out in the neighborhood of Las 5 Esquinas de Los Guaricanos, where it began with house by house, alleyways, and patios, followed by fumigation to combat the larvae and eggs produced by the mosquito (Aedes Aegypti), which transmits the disease.

This is the third intense operation carried out by the Ministry of Public Health through Area III of Health in this demarcation, where more than two thousand houses of Santo Domingo Norte have been intervened given the epidemic outbreak of dengue fever in the country, said the authorities.