On Friday 29th September, 2023, the Health Promotion Unit of the Health Authority of Anguilla held a health fair on the grounds of the Anguilla Public Library, east of the Valley Polyclinic.
It is an annual event that offers the public free testing and attention in areas such as blood pressure, blood sugar, cancer screening, cholesterol checks, dental checks, massages, foot care and advice on healthy food and nutrition practices. Also on hand were officials from MASA, who were taking information from members of the public for the registration of potential air-ambulance services.
Speaking to The Anguillian about last week’s health fair, Senior Health Educator, Mrs. Jennifer Gumbs said: “Our last Caribbean Wellness Health Fair was in 2019. Due to COVID-19, there was no fair for the past three years, but since COVID-19 is no longer a pandemic, we were delighted to hold our Caribbean Wellness Day Health Fair last Friday.”
“This was a very successful event which benefited many persons from the public in educating them with health information about the functioning of their bodies,” she said.
Mrs. Gumbs described some of the activities that were conducted at the health fair. “We did numerous checks,” she said, “such as blood pressure, blood sugar, diabetes foot care, HIV checks, massages, physiotherapy and body mass index checks. Vouchers were also issued for prostate testing, cholesterol testing, pap smears, and mammograms.”
A doctor was also on hand for the “Ask You Doctor” counseling programme. Further, in case persons tested with high blood sugar or high blood pressure, they were directly referred to the doctor on the grounds for advice or to arrange for more extensive testing in the lab or for the appropriate treatment.
Mrs. Gumbs noted that the fair was of a great benefit, particularly for the vulnerable. “We know that everyone cannot afford health insurance,” she said, “and one of the aims of the Health Fair is to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people in society who are not in a position to make required doctor visits.”
“We now know that the Senior Shield has recently come into being, for persons who are seventy and older,” she emphasized. “But there is a gap there where there are persons in their fifties and sixties who may be unemployed or underemployed or who have low paying jobs and cannot afford high insurance premiums.”
“In view of that limitation, this is where the annual free Health Fairs play an important part for our people,” she said. “And just to stress the point: with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, women who would meet the criteria of being unemployed or underemployed, with no medical insurance, could take advantage of a special offer from the Anguilla Cancer Society, whereby they can get free a mammogram done at the Hughes Medical Center at a discounted price of US$100.00, paid for by the Anguilla Cancer Society.”
“I am really pleased to see that so many persons took advantage of the opportunity to check up on their health at our Caribbean Wellness Day Health Fair,” Mrs. Gumbs told the Newspaper. “I think that we were in a very strategic spot, between the Library and the Polyclinic where we were quite visible to the public eye.”
Mrs. Gumbs thanked the sponsors for their contributions to the fair. These included Nagico Insurance, Caribbean Insurance Solutions, the Anguilla Cancer Society and MASA. She also thanked the many health care professionals who so willingly volunteered their service in attending to the public.
She extended specific thanks to the students of the St. James Medical School who always donated their time and talent.
In addition, she extended hearty thanks to Mr. Joseph Pradel and his team of massage therapists for giving of their services free of cost each year; Mr. Valentino Mucket for providing exercise demonstrations and for coaching the clients on how to work out correctly; and telecommunication company FLOW for furnishing the tents free of cost each year.
One special feature at the fair was the performance of local calypsonian, Steve “Hot Shot” Hodge, who sang his signature song “Healthy Living”. Mrs. Gumbs thanked him for so willingly rendering his popular 2023 calypso hit.
According to the Senior Health Coordinator, the annual health fair events came about as a result of a regional decision taken in 2007 when CARICOM Heads of Governments signed a declaration to combat non-communicable diseases in the region. They realized that these non-communicable diseases were the cause of many pre-mature deaths in the Caribbean, thus Caribbean Wellness Day Health Fairs were instituted across the region.
