The Da Bindu Health Care Service organized by the Da Bindu Group was held today, October 24 at the office premises of the Da Bindu Group in Katunayake. The event was attended by nearly 150 employees of the Katunayake Free Trade Zone and was sponsored by the Katunayake Seeduwa Medical Officer of Health.
This health care program is conducted every year targeting the employees of the Free Trade Zone and its objective is to provide health clinical facilities to the working women who are deprived of opportunities and facilities.
“The Da Bindu Collective thinks it is our responsibility to find out about these working women. There we are concerned about their physical and mental health. These women who come to work in the free trade zone from faraway places do not have time to find out about their health. There are no facilities.
So we organize this program every year and give them the facilities they need. ” Commenting on today’s healthcare program, Chamila Thushari, Program Manager, Da Bindu Collective said.
There is no space in the queues on working days
The Katunayake Seeduwa Medical Officer of Health is committed to examining the health status of these working women and making the necessary recommendations, but the problem is that the relevant clinics are held on weekdays. These female workers, who report for work throughout the week, do not have the opportunity to attend any clinics.
Often Sundays, which are factory holidays, are the only day when women workers are allowed to be interested in their health issues, but the problem is that Sunday is a holiday and not generally reserved for clinics. Therefore, every year, the Da Bindu Collective comes forward to facilitate and coordinate such work.
In particular, other threats to the health of these women due to the Covid 19 epidemic had to be looked into. Accordingly, women who were unable to be vaccinated due to Covid 19 infection were also vaccinated at the same time. “Actually, there were people in this free trade zone who could not attend the scheduled dates of the vaccination because Covid grew up. We as the Da Bindu Collective wanted to vaccinate such female workers. So today, with the help of the health sector, we made room for that as well. We thank all the staff of the Katunayake Seeduwa Medical Officer of Health for looking into the matter with interest, ”said Chamila Thushari, appreciating the support received for the vaccination.
This month is the month of interest in breast cancer
October of each year is considered the month set aside for the task of preventing breast cancer. Therefore, the focus in October will be on breast cancer detection, prevention, and treatment. Tests to diagnose breast cancer, which can be fatal in women, were also carried out at the healthcare service today and the health staff worked to make them aware of breast self-examination.
The women workers who attended the health clinics also said that the training and attention they received during the period when it was stated that one in every 25 women were at risk of developing breast cancer.
During today’s program, Pap tests were also conducted to detect cervical cancer, which is common among women, and the women who attended the clinics said that the opportunity was very valuable. Women in the free trade zone do not have specialized clinics or facilities to perform such tests, so they are at risk.
At a clinic run by the Da Bindu Collective last year, several critically ill female workers were identified and referred for treatment. “In these programs, we also educate them about reproductive health. We also coordinate efforts to direct those in need of treatment to the health sector, ”said Thushari, adding that she appreciated the commitment and commitment of the health authorities.