According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), “The Bahamas is experiencing a shift in its epidemiologic patterns away from deaths due to communicable diseases and toward those caused by chronic non-communicable diseases, AIDS and AIDS-related complex, and accidents, violence, and poisonings. These changes, coupled with increasing health care costs, have served to highlight the importance of health education and promotion as a vital component of the health care system.” (Pan American Health Organization Country Profile)
Along with the other islands of The Bahamas, Eleuthera faces a significantly high incidence of breast cancer, as well as other cancers and the challenges of the chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) of heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. The fight is conducted with the blunted weapons of limited funding and overworked healthcare providers. This is where The One Eleuthera Foundation and the wider community can assist, by helping to reduce the incidence of morbidity (illness) and mortality (death) and helping to support the wounded healers who are the healthcare professionals.
To enable participants to adopt healthy self-management behaviours, reverse disease trends and create a healthier community through diet, exercise and healthy lifestyle changes.
The program will focus on children and adults that may suffer from ailments such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, gout, arthritis, insomnia, thyroid disease, lupus, fibroids and/or polycystic ovarian syndrome and a host of other health issues. These persons will participate in vigorous activities such as aerobics, body weight exercises, crunches, endurance exercises, skipping, weight lifting, abdominal exercises and receive nutritional counseling to assist them with proper eating habits and ways of preparing healthy, proportional meals.