Bureau of Health Education (MOH SLU)

📌𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐉𝐧. 𝐁𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞, 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲, 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number three speaks to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all, regardless of age, race, location, and income. This underlies the basis of the World Bank’s continued efforts to provide assistance to countries moving ahead with UHC implantation. The Caribbean Flagship Regional Knowledge Exchange hosted in St. Lucia in October was one such World Bank venture. This was achieved with support from the Korea World Bank Partnership Facility. Edit Velenyi - Senior Economist, World Bank “There’s huge amount of opportunities to learn both within the countries and across the countries, as well as from Korea. Korea is not only a knowledge champion but it’s an OECD country with very good developmental outcomes and we wanted to sort of accelerate your opportunities in growth and development” The three-day event also facilitated discussions on Hospital Sector Modernization. This included a tour of St. Lucia’s premiere facility, the Owen King European Union Hospital located within the Millennium Heights Medical Complex. The OKEUH was commissioned in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Management of the Hospital at the time was celebrated for its ability to transfer services between hospitals without any major glitches or loss of life. Dr. Lisa Charles - Director of Clinical Services at the Millennium Heights Medical Complex “We are one of the only islands that has moved a hospital the way that we did, Victoria Hospital into OKEU Hospital. So just based on that experience alone and remember we spent many years planning that move, many years with consultants who were brought in to assist us with the logistics. So in terms of that knowledge, particularly in terms of transitioning a hospital to a new state of the art facility where we were not using that level of technical equipment etc.” Performance Based Financing is a new financing mechanism being introduced by the World Bank. The proj

Following our recent heavy rains and flooding, ensure the water being used for drinking and other consumption is safe for use.

Caribbean Flagship Regional Knowledge Exchange

𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 The Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Elderly affairs hosted the opening ceremony to a three-day knowledge exchange conference at the Finance Administrative Center on Tuesday 25th October, 2022. The Knowledge Exchange Conference is intended to improve health systems' resilience and accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage in the Caribbean. The historic event is the first collaboration between the Korea World Bank Partnership Facility and the World Bank and it involves health policymakers from around the world brought together during a three-day period from October 25 to 27, 2022.

This week we had our final workout Wednesday as we 🅼🅾🆅🅴🅳 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫. And there was a lot of moving at that. Thanks to all who put in their hands, feet, waists, and hearts to being active, taking charge of their health, and committing to living well. There are actions we can take to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, including breast cancer. °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· 𝐒𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄...𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩.°°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.·

📌𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐰é𝐲ò𝐥.

𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐓 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐭, 𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐜𝐡𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐭...𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝.

Poorly managed stress can affect our health in not-so-good ways. 😒Long periods of poorly managed stress can increase the risk of negative health outcomes. ✨But here is good news✨ Stress can be managed...and managed well by using the suitable tools in your health management toolbox.🧰

Our habits help nurture holistic health. #movetofightbreastcancer #breastcancerawarenessmonth2022

𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓫𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓵𝓽𝓱, 𝓦𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓔𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓵𝔂 𝓐𝓯𝓯𝓪𝓲𝓻𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓞𝓫𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓑𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓽 𝓒𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻 𝓐𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓜𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓱 We observe Breast Cancer Awareness month from October 1st to 31st every year. It is a time in when all sectors come together to raise awareness of the impact of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer globally and affects 2.3 million women. In 2020, worldwide breast cancer was responsible for 685, 000 deaths. As of 2021, there were 7.8 million women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer in Saint Lucia is the most common cancer found in women and contributes significantly to the years of productivity lost due to disease and death. The risk factors for breast cancer include having a family or personal history of breast cancer, obesity, the abuse of alcohol, having a first period before 12 years, having a first child after 30 years of age, hormone use and increasing age. Although more common after 50 years, breast cancer can occur at earlier ages and also in men. Some factors which appear to protect women from breast cancer include the following: physical activity, breastfeeding, earlier childbirth, later first period and earlier menopause. Breast Cancer Awareness month is a time also to applaud the efforts of so many who have gone before us in raising awareness to promote early detection and prevent deaths. Women like Betty Ford, wife of former president Gerald Ford, who was a breast cancer survivor, paved the way for many others as she used her influence to promote the importance of education and early detection in the fight against breast cancer globally. We especially wish to applaud the efforts of our cancer NGOs

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫. #movetofightbreastcancer #breastcancermonth2022

Choose well❗️ Feel great‼️

A Knowledge Exchange Conference on Universal Health Coverage will be hosted in Saint Lucia from October 25 to 27, 2022. This event is funded by the Korea World Bank Partnership Facility in collaboration with the World Bank.

👣𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓳𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓮𝔂 𝓸𝓯 1000 𝓶𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓪 𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓹. In fighting breast cancer these steps do not stop after recovery. They become 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 on the lifelong journey of wellness. Breast cancer survivor Claudia Belmar Anderson is the Ministry of Health's breast cancer survivor this year sharing her experience to make our lives better. 𝓚𝓮𝓮𝓹 𝓜𝓞𝓥𝓘𝓝𝓖 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻 𝓒𝓵𝓪𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓪.💪🏾💪🏾 #movetofightbreastcancer #breastcancermonth2022

Schools 🏣are important settings for practicing and reinforcing handwashing habits. It is important to have hands washed at the significant moments to help prevent infections from spreading. 💡Here's a little reminder of these significant moments and how to have these hands washed well. 💯 #globalhandwashingday2022 #UniteForSafety

🌍 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the physical, spiritual, mental, social and economic health of the population. Mental health has been widely affected with new and amplified mental health problems. Preliminary findings obtained from the routine services provided to the community have shown issues related to grief and loss of jobs, family members, financial security, and support systems. Mental health is an essential part of being healthy and is just as important as physical health. As the World Health Organization (WHO) declared “There is no health without mental health”. There appears to be increasing global agreement of the importance of mental health in our daily life as it reflects in the way we feel, think and interact. The World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) has chosen the theme for 2022 ‘’Making Mental Health and wellbeing for all a global priority.’’ Saint Lucia along with the rest of the world observed World Mental Health Day on October 10th. We would like to emphasize that we all have a voice, let us use it to make the world a better place. We can all fight to stop stigma and discrimination. Stigma and discrimination continue to hinder inclusion and access to appropriate care. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched a stigma reduction campaign #DoYourShare to support mental health The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs joins PAHO and calls on every individual to #DoYourShare for mental health. We all have a role to play. The reduction of stigma and discrimination will result in improved outcomes for service users, thus improving mental health literacy for all. We c

We have HEARTS 💕 that care for you. Support is available within our Community Wellness Centres to support people living with high blood pressure.

This step-by-step guide will help build your skills in conducting your monthly breast self-examination. Spend the next minutes with us to help build your skills and take better control of your health. #movetofightbreastcancer #breastcancermonth2022

General Health Update from Chief Medical Officer. As of October 11, 2022.

Let's MOVE to fight breast cancer. 💪🏽💪🏾💪🏿 Simple movements added to your day results in big improvements in health. AND you look better and feel better too‼️ #movetofightbreastcancer #breastcancermonth2022

UPDATE ON HAND, FOOT & MOUTH` OUTBREAK

MOVE 🤸‍♀️🏋🏾‍♂️🏊🏿‍♂️ to fight breast cancer. The Ministry of Health continues its annual leadership and advocacy efforts during the month of October to aid in strengthening national action to reduce the prevalence of breast cancer among women in Saint Lucia. #movetofightbreastcancer #breastcancermonth2022

PRESS STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST ON INCREASED CASES OF GASTROENTERITIS IN SAINT LUCIA.

Steps towards implementation of UHC Saint Lucia continues its work to ensure that Universal Health Coverage UHC is implemented in the population. The Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs remains committed to the process of the implementation of Universal Health Coverage UHC in Saint Lucia.

ESAVI Workshop Saint Lucia is working towards strengthening its surveillance for immunization following an Events Supposedly Attributable to Vaccination or Immunization ESAVI workshop held recently. The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization PAHO hosted an ESAVI workshop aimed at strengthening the capacity of participants to detect, notify and investigate an event supposedly attributable to vaccination or immunization ESAVI according to the national guidelines.

LAUNCH OF SAINT LUCIA MOVES CAMPAIGN The Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs has called on every citizen to commit to age-appropriate physical activity. With the recent launch of Saint Lucia Moves, collective action will be taken to reduce the national impact of chronic diseases by citizens becoming and remaining more physically active. The Saint Lucia Moves campaign is our national campaign which is part of the overall Caribbean Moves initiative led by CARICOM and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). #saintluciamoves #Caribbeanmoves

Caribbean Wellness Day Festival 2022 Anchor Lead: Saint Lucia commemorated Caribbean Wellness Day with an ecumenical service and festivities focused on overall wellness. The Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs joined in the movement of raising awareness and promoting activities aimed at addressing non-communicable diseases, following a Caribbean Wellness Day festival held on the William Peter Boulevard.

Boosting your immune system is important. So is being vaccinated against COVID-19. The two go hand-in-hand to keep us protected and to BOUNCE BACK from COVID-19.