Today, Sunday 7th April 2019, is World Health Day. This year, the World Health Organisation is focusing on the topic of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with the theme being ‘Health for All – Everyone, Everywhere.’

WHO states that “Universal Health Coverage means that all people have access to the quality health
services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship.”  They explain that  Universal Health Coverage includes the full spectrum of health services which encompass prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care.

Providing UHC is one of the Sustainable Development Goals and countries throughout the world, including St Kitts and Nevis are exploring how UHC can be achieved.

In recognition of the World Health Day theme we thought it would be useful to share this excellent interview from January 2019 with Chairperson of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission for Universal Health Coverage , Azilla Clarke.

In this informative interview we hear about the government’s plans for UHC. The discussion includes an overview of the major health challenges in the Federation, including non-communicable disease (NCDs), how we can address these and how UHC can contribute to tackling NCDs.

You can watch this interview below and happy World Health Day!

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Photo Credit: SKNIS

We are absolutely delighted to have been invited to become a member of the St Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards Technical Committee for Labelling.

The St Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards has the responsibility of protecting the environment, health and safety of consumers. They focus on preparing, promoting and adopting standards on a national, regional and international basis with respect to the structures, commodities, materials, articles and other products and services offered to the public commercially. Through their work they promote standardization and quality assurance in industry and commerce.

One of the areas that the Bureau focuses on is ensuring the proper labelling of pre-packaged food items. Currently, the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality is updating the regional standard for the labelling of pre-packaged foods. The updated standard includes the introduction of front-of-pack labelling .

Front-of-pack (FOP) labels are just one of several strategies being used worldwide to tackle obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This type of labelling aims to provide the public with a quick way to assess the health of the foods they purchase and consume, making it easier to identify which foods are high in salt, saturated fat and sugar. It is also hoped that manufacturers will take notice of the labelling of their products and be encouraged to reformulate their products and reduce the amount of salt, sugar and saturated fat in them.

As part of our role in the SKNBS Technical Committee for Labelling we will be providing input on the need for FOP labels as a useful tool for the public to make healthier choices and for the government to tackle NCDs, a significant challenge in St Kitts and Nevis causing 83% of the islands’ deaths.

Last month we attended our first meeting of this committee and were delighted to have had the opportunity to have a productive discussion on FOP labels.

We’d like to thank the committee for inviting us to be a member of this group and are very much looking forward to making a positive contribution going forward.

The World Cancer Research Fund recently published a very informative and useful report on the lessons learnt globally from implementing front-of-pack (FOP) labels.

This report is the second report in their Building Momentum series and aims to provide policymakers with evidence-based advice on the design and implementation of FOP labelling.

FOP nutrition labelling is just one of several strategies being used worldwide to tackle obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This type of labelling aims to provide the public with a quick way to assess the health of the foods they purchase and consume, making it easier to identify which foods are high in salt, saturated fat and sugar. It is also hoped that manufacturers will take notice of the labelling of their products and be encouraged to reformulate their products and reduce the amount of salt, sugar and saturated fat in them.

Currently many countries are exploring the introduction of FOP labels so the WCRF’s report is very timely. It covers the following areas:

• Why FOP labels are important in tackling NCDs
• A summary of the research on the effectiveness of FOP labels
• The history of FOP labels and current status of FOP labels globally
• The different types of front-of-pack labels
• Developing a clear strategy for FOP labels that considers the following
  • The local context
  • Ensuring strategies are based on evidence
  • Having clear aims and objectives
  •  Carefully design of labels
  •  Good stakeholder engagement
  • Monitoring and evaluation are included at the early planning stage-
• Defending FOP labelling

The report includes case studies from countries who have already implemented front-of-pack labelling providing very useful real-word examples of the challenges involved in introducing FOP labelling and how to overcome them.

With the Caribbean currently exploring the introduction of FOP labelling we believe this report is a must-read for policymakers throughout the region.

The report can be downloaded below and for more information on the WCRF please visit their website here

Lake Health and Wellbeing is  happy to support Dafina Malovska’s campaign calling on the UK’s Department of Health to introduce annual gynaecological check-ups for every woman in the UK. We believe a policy like this will save many lives by enabling the early diagnosis of gynaecological cancers that have no screening programmes – ovarian, womb, vulval and vaginal cancers.

Also, annual check-ups can assist in the early diagnosis of a range of conditions that significantly affect women’s quality of life, such as fibroids and endometriosis.

You can show your support by signing Dafina’s petition here and please read the article below to find out more about this issue.

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At the age of 35, Dafina Malovska was diagnosed with stage 2 womb cancer which had spread to her ovaries. Her only option, at the time, was to have a total hysterectomy (the removal of her womb and both ovaries) which sadly deprived her of having her own children and plunged her into an immediate surgical menopause.

Dafina was lucky that her cancer was diagnosed at a fairly early stage and she survived, but many women are not so lucky and are diagnosed at a late stage when it is too late for successful treatment.  The late diagnosis of these gynaecological cancers occur, in part, because there is no screening programme for most of these cancers.

Currently in the UK cervical cancer is the only gynaecological cancer with a screening programme and this has successfully reduced the incidence and mortality rates for cervical cancer.

Developing a cancer screening test is challenging and researchers across the world are working tirelessly to develop screening tests for those cancers that require one.  Until then, when it comes to womb, ovarian, vulval and vaginal cancers, women have to be aware of the signs and symptoms, but this can be problematic as it can be hard to identify symptoms as the symptoms of these types of cancers are similar to a range of other conditions which can lead to misdiagnosis.

For example, in February 2014, before Dafina was diagnosed with womb cancer she started experiencing extreme bloating and visited her doctor almost monthly. Eventually her symptoms were wrongly attributed to gluten-related bloating and by November of that year Dafina became very unwell while abroad and it was subsequently discovered that she had 14cm tumour weighing 500g .

If Dafina had access to an annual gynaecological check-up her tumour could have been discovered earlier before it had spread to her ovaries.

In many countries throughout the world, girls and women have annual gynaecological examinations and it’s important that the UK explores this approach as its survival rates for gynaecological cancers such as ovarian cancer are significantly lower than other countries’ rates.

Change is needed and you can make a difference by signing Dafina’s petition which appeals to the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock MP, and the Minister for Women and Equality, Penny Mordaunt, to explore the introduction of annual gynaecological check-ups for women in the UK.

The first target for this petition is 10,000 signatures and her ultimate target is 100,000.  So far, Dafina has been able to secure 3,723 signatures. When her target is achieved, her petition will be presented to Matt Hancock and Penny Mordaunt.

Dafina would be very grateful if you could please sign, share and spread the word and for more information, you can follow her campaign on Instagram

We’re always looking for volunteers so if you have an interest in dedicating some of your time to a good cause, then please do complete the form below.

Our opportunities are very flexible so you can dedicate as much, or little, time as you’re able to. For most of these roles you can work  from anywhere in the world using collaborative tools like Zoom, Google Docs and WhatsApp  to work virtually with team members and other volunteers.

Our current volunteer opportunities include bloggers, social media officers, admin assistants, event assistants and graphic designers. Find out more below:

Bloggers

Do you like writing? Are you interested in health and inequalities? Then why not volunteer to become a Lake Blogger. As a blogger you’ll write articles on health issues that are of interest to the black community and can select health topics or we’ll provide you with a topic list. You can then submit your blog articles when you’re able to, we’ll review your article, provide feedback and then publish it. You’ll be listed as the author and are welcome to share your articles far and wide. After major milestones (e.g. first 10 blogs, volunteering for a year, getting to 1000 blog views) you’ll receive a certificate and the opportunity to be interviewed about some of your stories.

Want to see some of the great blog posts that our previous volunteers have worked on? You can check these out here

Social Media Officers

Is social media your thing? Then this opportunity is perfect for you. You’ll manage our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts creating engaging content that promotes our work, raises awareness of health issues that are particularly relevant to the black community and assist with developing specific social media campaigns. You’ll also assist with organising our fibroids Twitter chats and explore ideas for social media events.  After major milestones you’ll receive certificates and awards to recognise your contribution to our organisation.

Admin Assistants

Are you able to give just a few hours a week to help us behind the scenes? We’re looking for Admin Assistants who can help with organising and evaluating health awareness events (including liaising with speakers and vendors), being the point of contact for email enquiries, assisting us in writing reports, conducting desk-based research and  assisting with a range of other administrative tasks. After major milestones you will be recognised for your contribution to our organisation.

Event Assistants

In 2019, we’ll be hosting a series of women’s health events in St Kitts  entitled ‘Girl Talk: Informal, Informative and Empowering Discussions on Women’s Health.’ These events are being organised in collaboration with the University of Medicine and Health Sciences and we’re looking for volunteers to assist on event days with the following tasks:

• Setting up the venue
• Assisting with social media coverage of the day
• Helping collect data  (encouraging people to complete feedback forms, encouraging attendees to sign-up to our mailing list, counting the number of attendees etc.)
• Welcoming vendors and speakers and helping them set up
• Handing out promotional material
• Selling raffle tickets
• Clearing up at the end of the event
• Ushering duties (showing attendees to their seats and giving directions)

Graphic Designers

We’re looking for graphic designers who can volunteer for a few hours a week to assist with a variety of design projects. These include:

• The redesign of our fibroids booklet
• The design of our fibroids fact sheets
• Creation of flyers for health awareness events
• Design of social media promotional material for campaigns
• Design of information packs, information sheets, guides, reports etc.
• Creating website images
• Designing infographics and educational material

More Information

For more information about these roles, please email info@lakehealthandwellbeing.com 

Apply

You can apply for any of these roles by completing the form below.

No Fields Found.

The information that you provide in this form will only be used to help us find the best volunteer opportunity for you and won’t be shared with, or sold to, any third parties.

Cancer Research UK has reported that its scientists have developed a very comprehensive method of predicting a women’s risk of developing breast cancer.

This work was recently published in Genetics in Medicine where it was explained that by combining information on family history, genetics and other factors like weight, age at menopause, alcohol consumption and use of hormone replacement therapy, scientists are able to determine a woman’s breast cancer risk.

What makes their prediction more precise than previous methods is that researchers, for the first time, included 300 genetic indicators for breast cancer in their risk calculation.

This piece of work has led to the development of an online calculator that General Practitioners (GPs) in the UK can use in their surgeries. Currently this online  calculator is being tested by GPs, nurses and genetic counsellors before it is released nation-wide. The hope is that this tool will enable healthcare professionals to explore early detection and prevention strategies for women based on their risk and therefore improve survival rates for breast cancer.

Although this work is very exciting more work is needed, as expressed by lead author, Professor Antonis Antoniou, who said:

“It could be a game changer for breast cancer because now we can identify large numbers of women with different levels of risk – not just women who are at high risk.

This should help doctors to tailor the care they provide depending on their patients’ level of risk. For example, some women may need additional appointments with their doctor to discuss screening or prevention options and others may just need advice on their lifestyle and diet.

“We hope this means more people can be diagnosed early and survive their disease for longer, but more research and trials are needed before we will fully understand how this could be used.”

Additionally, Dr Richard Rope, Cancer Research UK’s GP expert warned that:

“Research like this is hugely exciting because in the future it will enable us to offer much more tailored care which will benefit patients and make best use of the services that we have available.

“Although having an increased risk of breast cancer means a woman is more likely to develop the disease – it’s by no means a certainty. A woman at high risk may never get breast cancer just as a woman at low risk still could. But any woman with concerns should speak to her GP to discuss the options.”

For more information on this work, you can read Cancer Research UK’s research paper here

Hon. Hazel Brandy-Williams, the Junior Minister for Health in Nevis, has joined FIT’s National Weight Loss Campaign (a project that we have been working on).

Hon Brandy-Williams will be leading by example and allowing the cameras to follow her journey as she endeavours to lose weight and get fit and healthy.

Find out more about day 1 of Hon Brandy-Williams’ journey and why she decided to take part in the video below.

The National Weight Loss Campaign starts on 26th Jan and you can join too by registering at to take part by emailing admin@fitwellnesscenter.com or calling (869)-662-8749

We’ve been working with the FIT Wellness Centre in Nevis and assisting with their National Weight Loss Campaign.  We’re delighted to let you know that this campaign gets started on 26th January at the FIT Park, Bath Plains, Nevis.

Director of the FIT Wellness Centre, Mr David Walwyn, was recently interviewed about the campaign and you can read a nice write-up of his interview by Nevis Pages below. 

To register for the National Weight Loss Campaign, please visit the sign-up page here 

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Update: The start date for the National Weight Loss Campaign has been pushed back, a new date will be released shortly.

Article by Nevis Pages:

David Walwyn of the Fit Wellness Center on Nevis, in a recent interview, explained that the National Weight loss campaign will be officially launched at the Fit Park, on the 26th of January.

The Caribbean Moves campaign is growing with a third Caribbean country launching their version of this initiative. On 7^th December 2018, Trinidad and Tobago joined the Caribbean Moves family with the launch of TT Moves at the Brian Lara Promenade, in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh explained that this campaign is just one of their approaches to reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases in their Caribbean nation. He stated that this campaign is a continuation of their plan to move the public from an unhealthy to a healthier lifestyle, explaining that:

“When I say a healthier lifestyle, I mean how we eat, how we exercise, controlling our stress levels, moving away from this, as social-media electronic toys which shackle us to a device and we sit down.

“We have to start to exercise some more. Simple walking, simple jogging. We have to bring into our diets healthier options like fruits. Today we are giving out fruits and fruit trees. We want people “to gradually change their lifestyles, not change today for tomorrow.”

The launch of TT Moves follows the launch of Barbados Moves in October 2018 with more Caribbean nations expected to join the movement in 2019.

Caribbean Moves is an initiative launched in 2018 that is based on the successful Jamaica Moves  campaign and focuses on physical activity, healthy eating and age appropriate health checks. They’re in the process of establishing a secretariat and their remit is to develop an implementation schedule, coordinate activities and strengthen existing work in the Caribbean Region.

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Picture Credit: Anil Rampersad, pictured is  Terrence Deyalsingh,  the Minister of Health for Trinidad and Tobago 

OH Services, an organisation that aims to support people through the difficult periods of their life by offering counselling services, has recently started an online forum for women who have been affected by fibroids.

The forum is a closed private group that will enable women to connect with each other, share experiences and gain access to the expertise of OH Services.

It’s hoped that by having a space to share the ups and downs of having fibroids, women will be given an outlet to express their feelings and receive support in order to address the emotional impact of fibroids.

If you’ve been affected by fibroids and would like to try out this forum, you can find it on OH Services’ website here.

We’re delighted to be working with OH Services to support them in facilitating the discussions in the forum and look forward to connecting with women online.