Healthy model

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS now have a health-care management and disease prevention model they can follow, thanks to the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church.
On Monday, Minister of Health John Boyce commended the church for its work in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by creating model programmes for their congregation and the community. However, he urged other denominations to use their influence over the communities to get them involved in battling the challenges with NCDs.
Boyce, who was speaking at the SDA’s National Health Expo at Queen’s Park, said: “The challenges to effective cooperation are at times daunting but there is much work to be done in the area of health promotion and the Ministry of Health has long recognised we cannot do it alone.  
“Faith-based organisations are well placed to deliver the message of wellness through a well informed captive audience that sees the linkages between health and spiritual well-being.”
The new strategic plan for NCDs for 2014/2015, which will soon be made available by the Ministry of Health, he added, incorporates the reach of the faith-based organisations to assist in achieving targets outlined in the United Nations high-level meeting for NCDs 2011.
Individual responsibility was also emphasised as Boyce focused on the theme Creation Health: Know Your Numbers. He said patient empowerment was necessary in fighting NCDs as it progressively served to put people in the driver’s seat by taking charge of their own health.  
Health ministry coordinator of the East Caribbean Conference of SDA, Priscilla Privo, said the expo was to allow church members and the public to benefit. She said the theme was chosen to let participants “know their numbers” on a variety of health assessments, including blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and body mass index.
It was also intended to give them advice on a course of action based on the numbers they received.
Participants got to measure the strength of their lungs using a peak flow meter, view exhibits of a variety of whole grains that are in common use, and recipes on how to use them.
They were also able to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmers market.
The activity tent contained exercise equipment, while the cooking demonstration tent focused on using vegetables as alternative to meat.
Cleotelle Brathwaite said when individuals decide to stop eating meat they need to find alternatives with the same nutritional value. When they start to use the recipes, she added, they soon realise they do not need to return to meat because the alternative foods are tasty.
There were also demonstrations for diabetics on how to inspect and care for their feet as well as their teeth and skin.
(LK)