Page 10 - Observer January 20, 2017

Page 10 The St. Kitts-Nevis Observer. Friday January 20, 2017 LOCAL NEWS
Charlestown Primary School Spearheads Nevis

Disaster Management Multi-Hazard Campaign

By S. Williams program that has each media pages as well as an effort to get us to that lows.
primary school adopting the 12 month multi-haz- place of readiness in the
Drop. Cover. Hold. These a hazard to be featured ard campaign were offi- event that something does January – Charlestown
were the words ringing monthly in print and cially launched by assis- happen. The campaign Primary School -
through Charles-town electronic mediums. tant secretary Kevin has the blessings of the Earthquake
Primary School on Principal Education Of- Barrett on behalf of Premier’s Ministry, the
Thursday, Jan. 12 when ficer Palsy Wilkin said Premier and Minister Nevis Island Admin-istra- February – Elizabeth
the Nevis Disaster the Department of Edu- responsible for disaster tion and the wider com- Pemberton Primary
Management Department cation will work with management, the Hon munity because prepared- School - Tsunami
(NDMD) commenced its the Nevis Disaster Vance Amory. ness is very important.”
12-month multi-hazard M a n a g e - m e n t March – St. James
campaign for 2017. Department to promote “Nevis Disaster The complete list of Primary School -
its multi-hazard cam- M a n a g e - m e n t schools and the hazards
The campaign, which paign. Department is making they will feature are as fol- Continued on page 14
focuses on using primary
school students to convey The NDMD efforts in
the message of disaster raising awareness for Prostrate Screening Numbers
awareness, spotlights the 2017 also saw the
Charlestown Primary launch of its new inter- “The extension to this Down From Last Year
School for the month of active website and social campaign will include
January featuring earth- media pages this month. faith-based organizations,
quakes. public and private sectors, By S. Williams
At the Wednesday Jan. 11
NDMD in collaboration ceremony, Director Bryan response agencies, our A total of 580 men turned
with the University of Dyer said the department celebrities in our commu- out for the free one-day
Virginia visited the school believes electronic media nities and volunteers,” annual prostrate screening
last Thursday for an is the most effective way Director Dyer stated. clinic at the Occasions
announced earthquake of disseminating and “It is generally hoped that Conference Centre at the
drill. How to apply first receiving information to the end result of this cam- Pinney’s Industrial Site in
aid was also demonstrated current and new audi- paign will achieve the Nevis Saturday, Jan. 14
to simulated injured stu- ences. Mr. Dyer appealed overall goal of building a according to the Minister
dents. to members of the press to resilient nation through of Health Mark Brantley.
continue to support the saturation of risk reduc-
The Department of Nevis Disaster Manage- Mr. Brantley described the this and we feel that this is years and we have more
Education has collaborat- ment Department’s public tion initiatives.” program, now in its 10th exactly what we need in younger people coming in
ed with the NDMD in a awareness campaign. The website and social year, as beneficial to the the country as people take for screening. They’re
people of Nevis and charge of their health. The getting more health con-
government can’t do it for
scious and so they come
thanked the participating them. Each and every one out to get their prostate
doctors.
of us has a responsibility exams. The number of
“We have been trying in to ourselves.” late stage disease that we
health care here to say to The program, which used to pick up has gone
people that it is better for began with just 20 men, down considerably over
them to learn of their sta- has seen significant the last couple of years.
tus early as it affords us a growth throughout the The detection rate has
greater opportunity to cure ensuing years. Health decreased also and I think
people of whatever they experts say if detected this has to do in part with
may be ill with,” he said. early, the survival rate for the amount of screening
When people don’t get prostate cancer is over 90 that we do on a yearly
checkups and they don’t per cent. However if it basis. So we’re seeing
go and take advantage of spreads and is not detected less numbers of prostate
screening opportunities, early, the survival rate can cancers being picked up
by the time they find out drop to 0. from when we first started
it’s too late. out,’ he said.
Dr. Dwayne Thwaites, ‘We had a prevalence of
“The rate of prostate can- who along with fellow
cer has lowered in Nevis visiting urologists carried about 3.1 per cent. Now
since we’ve been doing that has gone down con-
out the screening, noted siderably below 2 per cent
that it has been a remark- right now and that’s with
able 10 years. all the screening that
we’ve done over the last
“The numbers have 10 years.”
increased considerably.
We are up to 560 which In 2016, 622 persons took
has decreased from last part in the screening. The
year but people braved the program has since extend-
weather and the rough ed to St. Kitts for annual
seas. Usually we get a screening in the middle of
few people from St. Kitts the year.
but because of the bad
weather we haven’t seen Registration commenced
many of those turn out. at 6 a.m. though some per-
The number is still good sons were there waiting
and people are still com- since the wee hours of the
ing in at this point in time. morning for the examina-
tion which began around 8
‘I think that what we’re a.m. All participants had a
seeing more and more is blood test (PSA) done fol-
late stage disease. Prostate lowed by a Digital Rectal
cancer has decreased con- Examination.
siderably over the last 10