Mauritius News

The World Mental Health Day was marked on 10 October 2018 at the Brown Sequard Mental Health Care Centre in Mauritius in the presence of Dr Hon Anwar Husnoo, Minister of Health and Quality of Life, Dr Myriam Timol, Acting Director General Public Health Services, Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius, Dr Nawoor, Regional Director of Jeetoo Hospital and Dr Ameenah Soreefan, Consultant in Charge (Psychiatry).  The quality of the cultural programme presented by the patients and staff of the Mental Health Care Centre as well as the exhibition cum sale of creative handmade crafts of the patients from the Occupational Therapy Department captured the attention and interest of all those present. Dr Hon. A. Husnoo, in his address, explained that ‘mental health is a state of wellbeing that we need to have in order to operate in our daily life, it enable us to do things, work and contribute to the society’.   He pointed out that there is no health in the absence of mental health.  The Health Minister added that people should be changed their attitudes towards people suffering from mental health problems.  He added that ‘very often, mental health problems are associated with changes in society, changes in work conditions, discrimination towards women, social exclusion, unhealthy lifestyle, violence, diseases, drug or alcohol  addiction and unemployment.’  

Dr Anwar Husnoo, the Minister of Health and Quality of Life, opened the validation workshop held on 02 October 2018 at Le Meridien Hotel, Mauritius to validate the findings of the National Assessment of the Health System for better non-communicable disease outcomes.  Eminent personalities, namely Her Excellency, Ms Marjanna Sall, the Ambassador of European Union, Mrs Christine  Umutoni, United Nation Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Dr Laurent Musango, the WHO Representative in Mauritius, Mr  Prakash Nowbuth, Senior Chief Executive, Dr Maryam Timol, the acting Director General Health Services, Mrs Mudaliar, Permanent Secretary of the Health Ministry and were present during the opening ceremony.  The national assessment of the health system, a joint initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO), European Union and the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, which started in September 2017, has now reached the stage of completion.  The assessment results will be used in national processes for elaborating the Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP) and  the Integrated NCD Action Plan for Mauritius.

The National Health Accounts (NHA) Report 2017 was launched by the Health Minister, Dr Honourable Anwar Husnoo, on 24 September 2018 during a workshop in the presence of Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius, Dr Myriam Timol, Acting Director General Health Services, Permanent secretary, Mrs M.Mudaliar and Dr (Mrs) L. D. Luckheenarain from the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life,  and representatives of the private sector academia and civil society. The NHA 2017 has improved over the past rounds as it includes expenditures on classification of diseases developed for the first time in Mauritius. It tracks the levels and structure of healthcare spending vis-a-vis the general health status of the population occurred over a period of one year.  The Health Minister, Dr Hon. A. Husnoo, during his keynote address, said that ‘government acknowledges that health is a basic human right and that healthcare services should be provided according to need and not ability to pay.’ He added that ‘for the Government, health is not a commodity that can be traded at a price to alleviate the sufferings of people who are sick.’ 

A validation workshop is being conducted in Mauritius from 18 to 20 September 2018 in view of critically assess the levels of the country’s core capacities in detecting hazards from all sources and effectively respond to them without disruption of travel and trade.  The workshop, a preparatory step for the final visit by the external team of expert of the workshop, aims at validating the self-assessment report and identifying and compiling all reference documents that will be eventually required by the external team of expert during the final visit.

Social problems associated with the ageing of the population can be settled not only by formal services, like social aid, old age pension and health insurance but also through the provision of  a wide range of informal cares to support the population including self and family supports and mutual supports in community.  Such collaborations can be explored through global partnership and sharing of other countries’ experiences.  In this context, a half-day seminar was organized by the Embassy of Japan in Mauritius on Thursday 13th September 2018 at the Residence of the Japanese Ambassador.   Following a presentation by Dr Ken Masuda, Associate Professor at Nagasaki University, Japan, on the theme “Challenges of Social Welfare, Long-term Care and Insurance System in Hyper-Aged Japan”, the participants to the seminar, including Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius and Mrs Christine Umutoni, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Representative to Mauritius, had the opportunity to participate in a live discussion.

Synchronizing the different plans in view of linking them with the Mauritius Vision 2030 on Health and Quality of Life, WHO Global Programme of Work (GPW13) and WHO Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) is a priority action to achieve national and global health outcomes, one of which is the reduction in the prevalence of Non-communicable Diseases and their risk factors. As a matter of fact, the prevalence of NCDs mainly diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and respiratory diseases has increased over the past four decades. NCDs account for 85% of disease burden and 81% of mortality in 2015 in the country.  In this context, the World Health Organization (WHO) is collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life Mauritius to elaborate two keys policy documents, namely the Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP) 2019-2023 and the integrated strategy for prevention and control of NCDs disease 2019-2023.  As part of the initiative, the process for establishing “societal dialogue for health” and developing a roadmap was initiated to finalise the action plan for NCDs and Health Sector Strategy.   Dr. Ann-Lise Guisset and Ms. Kira Johanna Koch from WHO-Headquarters Geneva facilitated activities from 20th to 28th August in Mauritius.  Seeking the engagement of all stakeholders, namely patients, families and the community at large was crucial at this stage so that they are placed at the heart of the Health Sector Strategy. The participatory approach for diagnosing HSS challenges to addressing the NCD epidemic opened a window of opportunity to engage in more large scale population participation in developing the new Health Sector Strategy and the integrated NCD Action Plan.  It will ensure inclusiveness and participatory approaches for all stakeholders including Government, Population, Civil society, UN agencies, media, academia, NGOs, bilateral and multilateral agencies involved in health.

Blood transfusion is an essential part of modern health care. Used correctly, it can save lives and improve health. However, inappropriate and improper use of blood can lead to adverse reactions resulting in morbidity and even mortality. Safety of blood and blood products is of serious concern to countries, officials in charge of Blood Transfusion Services and prescribing clinicians. Apart from the well-known transfusion transmissible infections like HIV and hepatitis viruses, there are many emerging and re-emerging infections which are transmitted or could potentially be transmitted through blood transfusion.   In keeping with the WHO recommendations, Mauritius is required to have an approved National Blood Policy and a strategic framework that will ensure an adequate supply of safe and effective blood products and related medical services that are used appropriately for the benefit of all patients in Mauritius. In this context, Dr Jean Baptiste Tapko, WHO-consultant and expert on Blood and Blood products undertook a mission from 31st July to 10th August 2018 to review and finalize the National Blood Policy in Mauritius and support the country in developing a Strategic Framework for Action as well as finalize the Standards. The mission started with briefing meeting between. Dr Hon Anwar Husnoo, Minister of Health and Quality of life,  Dr. Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius and key policy makers at the Health Ministry.   During the meeting the objectives of the mission were discussed and orientation from the Minister was provided to the team working on National Blood policy.

In view of leveraging advocacy and strengthening of resource mobilization for vaccination and immunization, a four-day workshop is being held at Labourdonnais Hotel, Port Louis, Mauritius from 13-17 August 2018.  The overall objective of the workshop is to facilitate the elaboration of the first comprehensive Multi Year Plan (cYMP) for Mauritius. Health professionals including Regional Public Health Superintendents and technical officers from the Communicable Diseases Control Unit (CDCU), Public Health Nursing Officers, Laboratory Services Director, Advisor and Consultant, Procurement Officers, Transport officers and Human Resources Officers, Health Statisticians, Finance Officers and Health Records Officers are being trained on the strengthening of the national budgeting and planning for immunization.  Participants needs to understand  how much it costs to reach programme objectives, who will pay for these needs and how to prioritize activities based on available funding.  A credible estimate of the funding gaps will facilitate future discussion with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development on how to mobilize the resources required for the programme as well as informs decision makers on how to achieve programme improvements.

The new set of pictorial health warnings for cigarette packages that would soon be implemented in Mauritius was unveiled by the Honorable Health Minister, Dr Anwar Husnoo during the launching of activities at the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) on Thursday 31 May 2018 in the context of the World No-Tobacco Day.  This year the health authorities collaborated with the MBC to mark this event.  The media as highlighted by different speakers is one of the important stakeholders in the fight against tobacco, especially with regards to sensitizing the population on the dangers of tobacco smoke.  The link between ‘Tobacco and Heart Diseases, theme chosen by the World Health Organization, was strongly emphasized during the launching ceremony.

Health Ministers and Environment Ministers, Experts, Officials and other key stakeholders from Small Island Development States (SIDS) of Africa and South East Asian regions, namely Cabo Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Sao Tome and Principes and Seychelles participated in the World Health Organization (WHO) Third Global Conference on Climate Change and Health on 21-22 March 2018 in Mauritius. This special Initiative was launched by the WHO in view of supporting SIDS countries in the adoption of a streamlined and concerted approach to climate change and health. During the conference, the participants focused on climate change and health, with a vision that by 2030 all health systems in SIDS will be resilient to climate variability and change. The importance of a collaborative approach towards having a regional and national institutional mechanism for mitigating the impacts of climate change has been stressed upon by the WHO. Dr Joy St John, Assistant Director-General Climate and Other Determinants of Health in WHO Head Quarters, Geneva, Dr Magaran Bagayoko, delegated by Dr Moeti, Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Africa, and representatives from various international institutions, including United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Indian Ocean Commission participated in the conference. Dr St John addressed the representatives from the different SIDS countries at the opening of the conference and said that ‘SIDS should speak in one strong voice to make them heard by the whole world as SIDS countries contribute little to climate change and yet, they suffer most of the adverse effects of climate change.’ She reiterated her full support and commitment in supporting SIDS countries in mitigating the impacts of climate change. She pointed out that ‘the outcome of deliberations once finalized will be submitted in the form of a Regional Action Plan at the forthcoming World Health Assembly in May 2018 in view of obtaining support and assistance to enable SIDS to cope with health and climate challenges’. During the two day conference, the SIDS countries recognise that climate change cannot be dissociated from health as it affects, in profoundly adverse ways, some of the most fundamental determinants of health, including clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter.