Vulnerable Groups Being Helped To Create Healthy Meals

Dieticians and nutritionists have been helping vulnerable Jamaicans create healthy meals with limited financial resources as they cope with the economic fallout brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, says Dietician at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Dr. Rosalee Brown.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, at the agency’s Regional Office in Montego Bay, St. James, on March 24, Dr. Brown informed that Jamaicans are being engaged through public education sessions at public healthcare facilities, schools, and religious institutions.

“Our members are involved at the clinic and other levels, to educate the ordinary man on how to make decisions, even with the support they’ll get from the Government,” she said.

Statistics from the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) and published for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), revealed that 45 per cent of Jamaican households with one or more children experienced a shortage of food due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

The report further states that 74 per cent of households coped with food shortages by eating smaller meals or eating fewer meals per day (66 per cent).

Against that background, Dr. Brown said public health dieticians are providing expert advice and guidance to help the population eat and stay well by optimising their nutrition.

“Sometimes this is the challenge, the knowledge in how to use the limited resources, and how to use the limited amount of money you’ll get and what to buy when you go into the store with that. So, that’s critical,” she argued.

Meanwhile, Nutritionist and Past President of the Jamaica Association for professionals in Nutrition and Dietetics (JAPINAD), Dr. Vanessa White-Barrow, said the economic pinch induced by the COVID-19 pandemic has left Jamaicans in low-income households more susceptible to malnutrition.

With a further economic fallout expected from the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Dr. White-Barrow underscored that urgent action is needed to ensure vulnerable Jamaicans have access to nutritious foods to prevent a further increase in non-communicable diseases.

“At the University of Technology (UTech), our public health nutrition team has been involved in doing research throughout COVID as well. So, it’s not just the war in Ukraine, but the influence of COVID on food security has really affected and potentially can affect the nutritional status of vulnerable groups, especially the low-income households,” she said.

Dr. White-Barrow informed that based on research findings, members of low-income households reported reducing the number of meals consumed on a daily basis.

“What we are hoping and will be advocating for are policy decisions and programmes that will ensure that [for] the most vulnerable households, their needs will be met through whatever types of interventions that are implemented by the Government,” she said.