Adventist doctors from Vila Central Hospital ran a free health program for members of Portoroki Seventh-day Adventist Church in Port Vila (Vanuatu) recently.
The program began with health checks followed by a week of talks on healthy living. Dr Caleb Vangana brought senior doctors Dr Crystal Garae and Dr Samuel Lemuel from Vila Central Hospital and Dr Mary Bagita from Port Moresby General Hospital to present on topics of lifestyle diseases, effects of music and social media on the brain, and the Adventist health message.
The week-long program ended on Sabbath, February 23, which was also Health and Temperance Sabbath. During the Sabbath service, Dr Vangana presented the results of the health checks, which showed that 60 per cent of Portoroki members are unhealthy, with only 6 per cent having a normal Body Mass Index (BMI). Further, 51 per cent of members had high blood sugar levels and 60 per cent had high blood pressure.
Lily Aru, a mother of four children, said, “It’s truly a privilege to be part of a Church that provides opportunities for medical doctors to come out from their paid jobs and provide such valuable advice to improve our health for free.”
