About twenty-five Health Promoters affiliated with BRA participated in a daylong training organized by Population Services International (PSI). The town of Don Juan in the Monte Plata province was the meeting place for the promoters, and other local grass-roots organizations, which will collaborate in a nation-wide project aiming at increasing the correct and consistent use of condoms among adults living in poverty-stricken rural areas, including the bateyes of the Dominican Republic. To achieve such goal, the project will combine educational campaigns in reproductive health with the widespread sales of affordable condoms. Health promoters will be charged of reaching the stores and individuals around their communities to make the distribution possible. The training imparted key strategies to be a successful salesperson and also provided important information about condoms. In a lively and engaging manner, Dr. Llodys Abreu from PSI debunked common myths about condoms so that health promoters are prepared to face people who might have a negative attitude towards them. Through role-playing and interactive exercises, participants were able to gain practice and forget shyness getting ready to approach storeowners and costumers. The training was also an opportunity to speak about an underlying theme of this project: the urgent need to take protective measures against Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

The month of September has been particularly busy at Centro Medico BRA inside Batey Cinco Casas, with the arrival of a new group of professionals joining the Clinic’s team. Primary Care now has four doctors that see patients every day of the week. Particularly noteworthy is the addition of a fully equipped laboratory now offering complete blood, urine and stool analysis on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. A recent survey, conducted by an MPH student from Columbia University at Centro Medico BRA, indicated that the majority of patients wanted the addition of a laboratory. For most users of the BRA Clinic, transportation is scarce and expensive. Therefore, having to make a trip to a different and more distant location to get tests indicated by their BRA physicians was problematic and sometimes stood in the way of faster treatment. In the specialty area the Clinic now has a dentist twice a week, a pediatrician and a gynecologist who see patients once a week. Papanicolaou are also available to patients.

“It is not easy for the inhabitants of the bateyes and rural communities of the Dominican Republic to consume a balanced diet,” said BRA’s CEO, Ulrick Gaillard. Several complex factors contribute to this problem, which takes its heaviest toll on the children who need proper nutrition to fully develop mentally and physically. People in these areas of the country live in extreme poverty and are unable to buy enough and quality products to feed their families. Plus, there is poor distribution of fruits and vegetables, ironically so abundant in other points of the Dominican Republic. The lack of electricity complicates things even more, since meat and dairy go bad very quickly. On top of this, water is scarce and not apt for human consumption and if not boiled, it can contain dangerous parasites and bacteria. In an attempt to palliate the effects of child malnutrition, the Batey Relief Alliance, in partnerships of the Vitamin Angel Alliance and the Direct Relief International, is sponsoring next year a nationwide multivitamin program to be carried out through collaborative efforts with local NGOs, the Dominican Ministry of Health (SESPAS) and the Department of Education. The program aims to provide to 55,000 children between the ages of 2 and 10, living in provinces of Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana, Elias Pinas, Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, with daily multivitamins and anti-parasite medication twice a year for three years. The BRA is currently in talks with the local health authorities to ensure their support and collaboration towards this initiative.