Mauritius News

Members and patrons of Public and Private School Health Clubs were sensitized on prevention and control of COVID-19 from 03 to 09 November 2020 in the four educational zones. This activity was organized by the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the World Health Organization with the support of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. Evidence-based information and facts about COVID-19 were shared to the trainees to help reducing the students’ fears and anxieties around the disease and support their ability to cope with any secondary impacts in their lives.   It was also an opportunity to build the capacity of the school health clubs members and patrons to strengthen their knowledge and skills on basic microbiology, COVID-19, Infection Prevention and Control , standard precautions regarding hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene, the concept of social distancing and the importance of wearing Personal Protection Equipment including face mask, face shield, gloves and goggles. 

The contribution of the nurses in the prevention and control of diabetes was highly recognized during the commemoration of the World Diabetes Day on 16 November 2020 at the Ebene Business Park of Mauritius.   Dr Hon Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, Minister of Health and Wellness acknowledged the vital role of the nurses who represent more than fifty percent of the total health workforce in the country and worldwide. It was a great opportunity to pay tribute to the nurses who are at the forefront of the public health care system with this year theme “The Nurses and Diabetes”.  “Unfortunately, the number of diabetic cases is continuously increasing across the globe.  We are aware that more emphasis should be laid on prevention of diabetes and sensitization of all Mauritians on the risk factors so that we can prevent diabetes”, said Dr Hon. K.K. Jagutpal, Minister of Health and Wellness. “One out of two persons living with diabetes does not even know that he or she is diabetic, and this is a matter of concern as we know the complications that are associated with diabetes”, said the Health Minister.

One of the severe consequences of diabetes complications is the risk of lower limb amputation. Damaged nerves or reduced blood flow to the feet can cause ulcers that may become infected, and in severe cases get partially or severely gangrened. In Mauritius, around 500 amputations are carried out every year, but 85% of them are preventable.

A Training of Trainers on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Case Management post COVID-19 is being conducted from 12 to 16 October 2020 at Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel, Mauritius to strengthen capacity of health workers who are fighting COVID-19 at the forefront. WHO has successfully mobilised additional funding through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), European Commission in view of supporting the Ministry in strengthening  the IPC measures to prevent COVID-19 across community based, primary health care and educational institutions.  The training workshop was declared open by the Director Health Services, Dr Mariam Timol of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, in the presence of technical officers of the Communication Diseases Control Unit and high officials from the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius and the technical staff of the WHO country office and some 30 trainers.

The World Mental Health Day 2020 was marked on 08 October 2020 at the New Psychiatric Hospital in Beau Bassin, Mauritius during an official launching of activities by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailash Kumar Jagutpal in the presence of the high level officials of the Ministry, Dr Ameenah Sofeeran, Consultant Psychiatry, Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius and others. The different speakers advocated for increased financing for mental health and well-being in line with this year’s theme “Move for Mental Health: Let’s Invest”. Dr K. K. Jagutpal, Minister of Health and Wellness during his address, said that the country has made significant progress in improving and decentralizing mental health services. He added, “we need to keep on improving mental health services. We will ensure that the national health sector strategic plan 2020-2024 which comprises a strategic objective on mental health is implemented successfully to attain our objectives."

A series of activities was launched at the Cardiac Centre, Pamplemousses on 29 September 2020 to mark the World Heart Day in Mauritius. Eminent personalities attended the event including , Dr Kailash Kumar Jagutpal, Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Sudesh Kumar Kallichurn, Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training, Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius, Dr Sunil Gunness, Cardiologist and Head of the Cardiac Centre, Dr S. Ramen, Director General Health Services, Directors of the five regional hospitals and high officials of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, among others. Dr K. k. Jagutpal, during his speech, highlighted the increasing number of people suffering from heart diseases with the ageing of the population and the NCD epidemic faced by the country since the past decades. According to the Health Minister, “more than 3000 deaths were due to heart diseases in 2019 while 19,500 patients were admitted in the different cardiology units of the regional hospitals for cardiac treatment. In addition, 4790 angiographies and 997 cardiac surgeries were conducted”.

During the Prizing Giving Ceremony of the National Info-Clip Competition held on 03 September 2020 at the R. Gandhi Science Centre, Bell Village, young people from different regions of the country were sensitized on the increased risk of mortality for COVID-19 due to smoking. Hon. Mr Stephan Toussaint, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius, Honorary President of VISA, Mrs Veronique Leclezio and Mr Deowan Mohee, President of VISA as well as high officials of the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation attended the event. The National Info-Clip Competition, launched in June 2020 in the context of the World No-Tobacco Day, aimed at encouraging young people to come up with preventive strategies to reduce the use of tobacco and nicotine among youth. Hon Mr S. Toussaint, during his address, expressed his appreciation to WHO for the support provided during the COVID-19 outbreak. He highlighted the need to stay alert even if in the country there is no locally transmitted cases. “COVID-19 is present around the world”, said the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation. He added, “smoking affects your lungs and causes respiratory diseases”. The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation emphasized, “smokers have high risks of complications due to COVID-19”. He encouraged young people to practice sports and benefit from the sports and recreational programmes offered by his ministry.

Hon. Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth launched the National Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP) 2020-2024 on 12 August 2020 at the Hennessy Park Hotel, Ebene, Mauritius in the presence of eminent personalities including Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. S. Obeegadoo, Dr Hon. Kailash Kumar Jagutpal, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Hon A. Husnoo, Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, Hon. N. Bodha, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other Private Parliament Secretary members. Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius, Mrs Christine Umutoni, UN Resident Coordinator and representative of European Union also attended the launching ceremony. During his key note address, Hon. P. K. Jugnauth, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius acknowledged the ‘able guidance of WHO’ in developing this first five year national health sector strategic plan which will enable the Government of Mauritius “to turn into reality its vision of a healthy nation”.

Mauritius marked World Breastfeeding Week 2020 by an official ceremony performed by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Hon. Kailash Jagutpal on 06 August 2020 at the Victoria Hospital, Candos. In line with this year’s theme, the country aims at creating awareness among young people on the importance of breast feeding and its positive contribution to a healthier planet. During the opening of the official ceremony, Dr Hon. Kailash Jagutpal, Minister of Health and Wellness, emphasized breastfeeding as key to all of the United Nations SDGs.  “Breastfeeding is directly linked to goal 3 on greater health and wellbeing and can also be aligned with Goal 4 on Education”, stated Dr Hon K. Jagutpal.  He added that mothers should be sensitized on the entire benefits of breastfeeding, including improving the cognitive ability of the child which is conducive to better learning outcomes.  “Breastfed babies are healthier and they are less likely to need excessive medical attention as they grow", said the Health Minister.  “The optimum use of energy and less waste to our landfills has a direct bearing on our commitment to curb down global pollution trends. This is reminiscent of Goal 12 of the SDG as it contributes to the health of our planet”, highlighted the Health Minister. WHO Representative in Mauritius, Dr Laurent Musango during his address, advocated for the setting up of a "National Breastfeeding Promotion and Protection Committee" as recommended in the National Roadmap/Framework to improve Maternal Newborn Child Health published in November 2019.  

Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative was invited to make a presentation on COVID-19 at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Moka on 15 July 2020 on the occasion of the 5th Nelson Mandela Memorial Lecture 2020. During his presentation, Dr L. Musango elaborated on the situation on COVID-19 at the global, African and local levels to 50 participants, social distancing requirement obliged and some 650 online participants. ‘Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to accelerate with 230,000 cases reported to WHO in a single day’, said Dr L. Musango, who added, ‘all countries are at risk.  However, not all countries have been affected in the same way.’    WHO Representative in Mauritius pointed out that South Africa is too much affected with COVID-19 as compared to rest of the countries in the African Region.  He also indicated that WHO is following on a number of indicators to evaluate the performance of countries in fighting COVID-19.  These indicators include Case Fatality Rate (CFR), Proportion of Mortality of Health Workers and Capacity Testing, among others.