Symposium |04 April 2023

Women discuss how to improve their health

A ‘Women Health symposium’ was held recently on Praslin as part of ongoing activities to commemorate International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8.

Over 50 women from different age groups and careers turned up for the symposium, which was followed by screening tests.

Organised by the Baie Ste Anne district administration with the support of the Ministry of Health, the aim of the event was to encourage women to come forward for regular health check-ups, empower them to be mindful of their health and the impacts of stress on their daily lives.

A team of five health professionals had travelled from Mahé for the symposium part. Doctor Aisha Barreau shared the impacts of stress on daily lives and routines of women and how best to handle it, while psychotherapist Jimmy Petrousse went in depth on the psychological impacts of stress and best practices to reduce these impacts.

During the very interactive sessions, the participants could get more insight into how to take time to care and improve themselves as individuals instead of always focusing or rather stressing about family and career matters. They were each challenged to choose a day, each month, which they would dedicate to themselves.

Also in attendance were the Minister for Local Government and Community Affairs, Rose Marie Houareau, the principal secretary, Kevin Perrine and the district administrator for Baie Ste Anne, Dennis Antat.

In his address, Mr Antat thanked the participants for making time for such an important session as well as the Ministry of Health for its programmes.

“This event shows our engagement to educate the population, especially women, about the importance of taking good care of their health and thank you to the teams from the Ministry of Health; your presence today also shows the commitment of your ministry towards the population,” said Mr Antat.

The session was followed by screening tests until late in the afternoon.

Text & photos by Nadia Bedier