During the opening remarks, the Senior Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Gail Gajadhar, underscored the importance of continuously upgrading the clinical capacity of healthcare professionals.
“Improving and updating clinical knowledge and management will allow for better integration of services offered to communities, especially in a polyclinic setting, thus reducing burden on the hospital emergency service. Prior to the Build Back Equal (BBE) project, UNFPA conducted the minimal initial service package training for reproductive health in crisis situations such as natural disasters, sudden population displacement, etc. As part of that training there was trainer of trainers’ workshop on the clinical management of rape and response to survivors of intimate partner violence in Guyana 2023 and I mention this because the three days of the CMR workshop this week will be building further upon this.”
The training brought together Saint Lucia’s frontline clinical staff with the aim of enhancing their ability to provide comprehensive care for survivors of rape and other forms of gender-based violence.
Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Ernest Norbal, noted that sexual assault often results in serious health consequences such as sexually transmitted infections, and emphasized that the workshops will strengthen the Ministry’s ability to respond to and support survivors.
“Sexual assault is one form of gender-based violence and sexually transmitted infections can occur in the aftermath of these assaults. These workshops will increase and improve the capacity of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs to respond and to manage affected persons,” he explained.
In addition to the training, the initiative also included a handover of essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) commodities from UNFPA to the Ministry of Health.
The supplies included models for breast examinations, a learning tool for conducting insertion of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs), female pelvic models, condoms, etc.