Men get health advice

Barbadian men are again being encouraged to take better care of their health.

 

At a recently held seminar on HIV and AIDS hosted by the National Assistance Board, Reverend Hughson Inniss, retired HIV Focal Point Person in the Ministry of Education, pointed out that for the most part men are very reluctant in their health-seeking behaviour, but told the scores of men gathered that it is in their best interest to break that habit if they want to ensure they maintain optimum health.

 

“For many years we have been trying our best to lift that interest from the men to see about their health, but for some reason it has not been forthcoming in the numbers that we would have liked. I’m told it is because most men seem to be afraid of a needle, and they think that is all to having health checks. But I want to say to you this morning that it would be a blessed thing for you to know if in fact there is any ailment that bothers you.” 

 

Rev. Inniss pointed out that the sooner a person discovers an illness, the better the chances are of treating and correcting it where possible. 

 

Meanwhile, weighing in on an issue which was raised by one of the participants regarding the distribution of condoms in prison, Inniss said the matter is one that was discussed more on the outside than in officialdom, and was unfortunately giving the impression that everyone in prison was infected with HIV or some other disease and needed to be protected.

 

“That is where we have to begin to break down the stigma and discrimination, with any assumption that everybody who goes to prison and comes out of prison may come out with HIV and unleash it into the community. We do not want to carry that line of thought because it is not really factual; there is no evidential proof to take us down that line,” he explained.

 

With that in mind, Inniss maintained that greater effort needed to be made to help all individuals to practise healthy lifestyles and to take responsibility for their actions. 

 

“If each one would take responsibility, we would get a whole long way in terms of fighting the stigma and discrimination that is here,” he stated. (JRT)