The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and the Elsje Finck-Sanichar College (COVAB) have partnered to improve the health system, particularly to better address violence against women. In this context, a four-day training for healthcare professionals with the tagline “Strengthening the Health System to Combat Violence Against Women” began today.
On the first day of the training, the introduction was attended by both Rakesh Gajadhar Sukul, the Director of Public Health, and Mark Berman, the Canadian Ambassador to Suriname. 29 students in total take part in this training. This mainly concerns nurses in primary care, including the healthcare staff of the Emergency Department (ED) and the Regional Health Service of Suriname (RGD).
They can better implement the knowledge they have acquired within their working environment. Some topics that will be discussed during the training are: the referral route when a patient comes in and there is domestic violence, which agencies are available to provide assistance, the clinical treatment that needs to be given, what information needs to be collected, what questions need to be asked, mental health and also a certain degree of confidentiality. The training lasts from September 18 to September 21.
“If we look at the figures, we see that approximately nine women die every year, and there are many more reports,” says director Gajadhar Sukul. He says it is good that the numbers are known, but that it is more important to reduce them by learning to act better when such situations arise.
The Ministry of Health is currently investigating how, after this training, policy can be implemented to reduce violence against women and create a safe environment for everyone.
