By Claudia Liburd
Nevis Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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| Odell Bussue, Chairman for the Eastern Caribbean Conference on Health |
(Charlestown, Nevis) --- "One of our specific goals is to establish effective local, regional and international partnerships to strengthen the health care infrastructure and improve health care delivery."
These were the words of Odell Bussue, Chairman for the Eastern Caribbean Conference on Health during a brief interview with Sknvibes.com with regard to the conference which is to be held at the Four Seasons Resort July, 16-20, 2007,under the theme 'Co-operating to Build Healthier Communities'.
"The conference will focus on a number of chronic diseases namely diabetes, hypertension, stroke, obesity and also HIV/AIDS. The emphasis will be on prevention and the health management of key chronic diseases.
"Based on our population size St. Kitts and Nevis is ranked no. 2 in the Caribbean region where diabetes is concerned. About 50% of our deaths are directly related to diabetes and hypertension. So this is a very serious matter for us. Therefore, a lot of emphasis will be placed on prevention of these diseases and for those who have the disease already we will be talking about the management of these diseases.
"We have been following health trends in the Caribbean region for about ten years now and we have found that it is necessary to bring about an event like this in Nevis inviting the entire Caribbean region to participate in the conference. Across the region we are suffering from basically the same types of chronic diseases which are prevalent among African Americans and among Hispanic Americans. So, there is a growing trend and it is very frightening if we do not bring this in check very quickly," he said.
The chairman noted that although policy initiatives and programs already exist, there are opportunities to strengthen these through partnership with regional and international experts.
"We are hoping to build on some of the initiatives that the government has and to also implement new initiatives. In so doing we can build on partnership and collaborate with a number of the international organizations that will be present at the conference. It is very important because they organizations have the financial weight and the technical expertise. By partnering with them we can bring behavioral and lifestyle change within the communities in the eastern Caribbean region," he said.
Bussue continued, "The conference will provide a place for young folks to come and interact with some of the experts in the field especially those interested in medicine, health and research. It will also provide a forum for networking for inter-collaboration or inter-partnership with some of these key organizations. The ultimate goal is to bring about life style and behavioral change, to strengthen the health care infrastructure and improve health care delivery in the OECS region," he said.~~adz:Right~~
"Our overall expectation is to have a maximum impact in terms of heightened awareness among the population especially our young population. Our folks have to become serious about their diet and what they are eating. Change starts from the top down and we hope that we will be able to show the government the seriousness about what is happening and in so doing effect policy," he closed.
For More information HTTP://BLSmeetings.net/Nevishealthconf/
