ADOLESCENTS in need of help are expected to receive much-needed support as the Ministry of Public Health moves to establish a special fund to assist this vulnerable group.

Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr. Karen Cummings, said the Ministry will be engaging its United Nations partners to support the initiative.

The Minister made the disclosure in her address to a “Nutrition Awareness Week 2015 workshop” Thursday at the Ocean View International Hotel and Convention Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

She explained that the fund will be used to sponsor community and private gardens, where vegetables and other staples of good nutritional value will be cultivated for consumption.
“The Ministry of Public Health will sit with our international partners to iron out the details of this idea of Gardening for Healthy Lifestyles to see how this practical pilot project could help achieve the shift from nutrition awareness to nutrition access in healthy foods,” Dr. Cummings said.
She told the gathering at the workshop, themed “Healthy Eating and Active Living: You, Your Health and Your Future” that the Government will commit to a CARING Packing Programme that targets adolescents in the various regions.
“The agenda is not only to translate the science of nutrition into healthy lifestyle practices and holistic values, but my Government will introduce a monthly cooking/feeding programme for adolescents most in need of access to basic foods items. The shift from Awareness to Action will function as a bridge over troubled waters,” the Minister told the gathering of teenaged mothers.

JOINT VENTURE
She noted that in the anticipated joint venture with farmers and food-chain providers, the Ministry of Public Health will partner with them to supply food items needed to create a basket of healthy foods.
“This token of our commitment to nutrition is critical to reinforcing our philosophy that good health increases the overall wealth of the nation. Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton recognises the need to promote our Government hands-on intervention approach to move from policy and education, to tackling the problem of access to basic food items head on,” Minister Cummings said.
The Ministry of Public Health aims to advance a holistic approach to Public Health that factor in all determinants of health, and to empower the citizenry.
This approach, Dr. Cummings said, would be particularly appropriate for addressing the nutrition in adolescents.
“Over the next couple of years, we will be advancing health policies, creating supportive environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills for healthy lifestyles, and re-orienting health services,” she said.
Such policies would include creating supportive environments for good nutrition; school-based nutritional programmes; and strengthening abilities to choose, produce, to purchase, and prepare foods. The dissemination of public consumer information for young people, and the general public would be done, Minister Cummings said.

GREATER EMPHASIS
She said the Ministry of Public Health would continue to place greater emphasis on the ability of health-care providers to conduct nutritional and dietary assessments of adolescents for surveillance as well as for taking relevant action.
The Ministry will be collaborating closely with other ministries and civil society organisations for greater impact and inclusion towards creating an environment for healthier people.
“Investing in you, in your health, and well-being would be one way of securing a brighter future that will give us tremendous returns,” Dr. Cummings said.
The two-day workshop was organised by the Food Policy Division of the Ministry of Public Health and was part of activities in observance of Nutrition Awareness Week, 2015.
Planning of the week began on July 19 and will end July 25. The exercise was done in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The workshop featured practical and educational sessions facilitated by the Food Policy Division and the Adolescent Health United of the Ministry of Public Health as well as Women Across Differences.

Issues to be covered
The issues that will be addressed at the forum include safe motherhood, health diet and meal planning, early childhood development (focusing on breastfeeding), empowering teens to return to school and anaemia (including the use of Sprinkles).
A survey of Iron, Iodine and Vitamin A Status and Antibody Levels in Guyana (2012) yielded valuable information on the iron status of the local population.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, 24 per cent of young children under five years, 20.8 per cent of schoolchildren and 41.3 per cent of antenatal women were anaemic.
Anaemia is a major public health problem in both developing and developed countries. In Guyana and the Caribbean, it has been attributed to poor dietary intake. Although there are other causes, it is most often a reflection of iron deficiency, which is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in Guyana.
As a consequence of its effects on health, anaemia can lead to a reduction in work capacity, endurance and impaired brain function.