Adventist Organization Treats NCDs in South Pacific
3 September 2024 |
In 2020, it was determined that over 70% of deaths in the Solomon Islands are due to non-communicable diseases, mainly diabetes. Due to this statistic, the health ministries at the South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church established The 10,000 Toes Campaign, which, according to their website aims to:
Equip every South Pacific village with the skills and tools to conduct community health assessments for the early detection of diabetes. Likewise, they can test for other, related chronic diseases.
Train and resource lifestyle coaches to implement programs to prevent, arrest, and reverse Type 2 Diabetes in every village.
Finally, improve the capacity of health professionals working in health systems across the South Pacific to manage diabetes.
150 ambassadors undergo week-long training to prepare them to perform free medical checks. The ambassadors and community members can be youth from different portions of the South Pacific, such as Rano, Lokuru, Vankuva, Elabeach, Bangopingo, Ughele, Egholo, Aghaghana, and Baniata. The training includes checking for blood pressure, sugar levels, height, weight, and Ideal Body Weight (IBW).
For some, these are the first medical checks they’ve ever received. More than 100 staff from the Vanuatu Provident Fund are among them, with graduate nurses from Vanuatu College of Nursing Education; Lekon Tagavi, Vanuatu Mission Adventist Health Ministries director; and 10,000 Toes ambassadors facilitating the health checks at the staff’s workplace. This kind of accessible healthcare can offer radical benefits mainly in catching NCDs (non-communicable diseases) such as diabetes before they hit.
For residents of Ughele Village, South Rendova, Western Province, this program will prove to be life-changing. Buruku Seventh-day Adventist Church communication officer Broughton Dokese spoke of the 10,000 Toes training program to Solomon Star about the importance of the project, saying “This program will save more toes to be amputated in the future and save money from traveling long distances to hospitals for NCD checkups or amputation.”
The preventative care being offered has reduced the fatality rates, and those leading the program are eager to see the long-term effects of the initiative. Aside from in-person medical checks, the 10,000 Toes Campaign website offers research, health tips, recipes, and workout videos that participants can incorporate into their daily lives, as well as access to Wellness Hubs where they can attend an LIP (Lifestyle Intervention Program) within their local communities which includes cooking classes, exercises, and connection.
