The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), with generous support from the Sabin Institute, will train 55 health care professionals, inclusive of medical doctors, and nurses, to prepare them to implement a Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) prevalence and vaccine acceptability survey.
The training sessions will take place on Feb. 25 and 26 at the NIS conference facility, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days.
It is anticipated that at the end of the training sessions, the health professionals will commence the HPV survey which targets 500 women throughout the Island and that information will be solicited on each participant’s interest in the HPV vaccination.
It is important for the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment to understand the epidemiological profile of HPV, as HPV is known to be associated with cervical cancer, and cervical cancer is preventable, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Lois de Shong said in a release.
The ministry will, therefore, utilize the information gleaned from the survey to inform policy formulation and programming.
The facilitators for the training sessions will be Dr. Beryl Irons, PAHO advisor on family and community health; Dr. Glennis Andall-Brereton, CARPHA senior technical advisor on non-communicable diseases; Dr.\Wendell Guthrie, obstetrician / gynecologist who is trained in HPV Screening Methodology; and, Yvette Holder, a trained bio statistician
They will be supported by local health professionals Dr. Sherian Slater, consultant obstetrician; Dr. Ronald Child, consultant pathologist; Dr. Rosmond Adams, registrar, Sister Ferosa Roache, Senior Nursing Officer/Community Nursing Service; and Sister Arlitha Scott, Coordinator of the National Family Planning Programme
Good job PAHO is paying, the ULP regime is broke, can’t even keep the present health system funded.
Our Hospital has no drugs, medicines, dressings, and all the things that any hos[pital should never run out of.
Even if you visit the hospital and want a poo, you will have a problem if you didn’t take your own paper or didn’t happen to have the front page of the Vincentian newspaper with you.