BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WOMEN in the Federation continue to take their health more seriously than men. That is according to Junior Minister of Health, the Hon. Wendy Phipps.
With the government recognising March as Women’s Month, the Ministry of Gender Affairs has undertaken a number of activities to promote women.
Asked about promotion of women’s health, the Minister explained that “I don’t think that the Ministry of Health would necessarily be going out of its way to push women’s health more aggressively than we have ever done”.
This, she noted, comes as women continue to police their health on a consistent basis, due in part to a number of programmes that the government currently has instituted, urging persons to get screened.
“Women's health has always been a front-burner issue for us. So you would see it emanating from various programmes we would have: antenatal clinics, postnatal clinics. We also have family clinics at the various health centers. And of course, any person who is need of a physical check-up can come to the district medical office and get that.
“Granted that most of the persons who do access medical services are - more often than not - women. They do it often as a proactive measure,” Phipps added.
In recent years, Health Ministers and other medical officials have made a concerted effort to encourage men to get screened for ailments on a consistent basis, but according to Phipps, “men tend to only come to a doctor if they are ill and can’t bare it”.
She reiterated that the Ministry of Health has been consistently high in the number of programmes that it has in place to deal with public health for both men and women, and there is no added need for the Ministry to do more for women in the celebration International Women's Day and the entire month.
“We did actually have a special promotion in Independence Square…where it was like a health fair focusing on matters, such as HIV testing, blood pressure checks and so forth.”
Activities to mark Women’s month continue.
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