Information and free testing offered at Health Fair
The third annual Public Health Expo held today at the Bliss parking lot on Regent Street in Belize City offered a unique opportunity for information sharing and gathering among students, the general public and organizations. The expo—a joint effort by the Belize City Council and the Public Health Department—provides a space for the exchange of information on various health issues and practices with the objective of effecting change. Twenty-four organizations including PAHO, PASMO, and The Cancer Society mounted displays and booths offering brochures, posters and even free access to testing for prevalent diseases, such as HIV and Diabetes. News Five’s Duane Moody visited and filed this report.
Duane Moody Reporting
For the hundreds who converged at today’s Health Expo, practicing healthy lifestyles was the message that resonated. Councillor for Public Health, Wayne Usher, says the expo provides a wide range of information.
Wayne Usher, Councillor for Public Health
“We have brochures and health information on a wide range of other health issues. We have actual physical exercise displays by Karen Rosito’s Aerobic Class. We have the nutrition quiz, we have giveaways, we have a dental section that will help you to know how best to deal with your teeth. And that type of thing. We have about twenty-four different organizations out here that are all health related; PAHO, Cancer Society, Diabetic Society, PASMO, Alliance Against Aids, B.F.L.A., they are all here.”
And while there were booths that provided information on health practices, some offered free testing for several diseases.
Joyce Flowers, Programme Organizer, Belize Diabetes Association
“We are doing education with the public as well as testing their blood glucose to see whether—we don’t say they have diabetes but to check the height of their blood glucose. When we find that people are too low or too high, what we do is do a referral to the health clinic so that they can do the fasting test to make sure
that the doctor prescribe that they are diabetic because at times there are people eat before coming to test. So we do not pronounce people as diabetic we do referrals to get a proper testing.”
Nurse Margaret Bradley, V.C.T. Coordinator for HIV/Aids, Belize
“We need to build a rapport with them, make them feel comfortable in giving us whatever information is needed and then we go about doing the testing and we tell them all about the procedure, what is expected and then we do the post counselling. And if you are negative we ask that you come back in three months. We then give you a number and then you go on testing. The first three are monthly and then you come once or twice a year providing you’re negative and providing there is change in your behaviour. A fair like this is quite useful because it tells us about other health issues and I believe that when you get tested it’s a plus for you because then you know if you are negative, what you should do to remain negative and if you are positive; there is help, there is hope and it all depends on you and there is treatment.”
The results for the testing were available immediately. And according to Usher the value for the event exceeds its costs.
Wayne Usher
”All of this that you see here is minimum cost and maximum effect. For example, I don’t think our budget is over two thousand dollars for all of this that is out here. It is a low budget but the impact is so great you cannot put a cost to that. We have a group coming from Dangriga to be out here with us and it is expanding.”
Over the three years, the number of health organizations participating at the expo, has increased from fifteen to twenty-four. Duane Moody, reporting for News Five.
