Statistics about the health situation in Mauritius are really worrying.

“We realized that Mauritians are in dire need of information on how to preserve and maintain their health. Though more and more health institutions are opening their doors, Mauritians are still quite unaware of the latest technologies, services and products available for their health and wellbeing,” states Ravish Parepiah, organizer of Salon de la Santé (Health Salon), to be held at the Free Port, in Mer Rouge, on September 27 and 28.

“Moreover, statistics about the health situation in Mauritius are really worrying. Increasing diabetes, hypertension, obesity and stress have become the scourge of our society. All are affected by them, young and old, urban or rural Mauritians. The idea behind the organisation of this salon is to bring under the same roof, the best and state-of-the-art technology and services, available to locals,” Parepiah adds.

Changing the mindset of locals, altering their perception of food and changing bad eating habits represent a real challenge for the participants of this salon. “The salon will be organized in collaboration with the Heart Network of Mauritius. We have realised the urgency of the situation and we intend to present an out of the ordinary feature for the Mauritian public : a pedagogical stage. This platform will be our way of contributing to changing mentalities and improving eating habits of our fellow citizens,” Parepiah says.

The themes that will be discussed will be nutrition for kids, osteoporosis and arthritis, breast cancer, asthma and allergies, cardiac diseases and risk factors, obesity and diabetes.

Some 50 participants will be present at Mer Rouge from the health and wellbeing sectors as well as non governmental organizations such as PILS, APSA, Tabac Stop Centre, Leukemia Foundation and Tidiams among others. “We have partnered with as many health catering associations in an effort to bring the best organisations under the same roof and sensitize people to diseases.”

For Dr Uvarajen Paratian, Director of The Graduate School of Health and Social Care, the Health Salon will also be an opportunity for people to get acquainted with “innovative training courses that can shape a professional career.”

“The purpose of participating in this salon is to present our new courses which aim at training people in health care and social assistance, pharmacy dispenser and medical assistant, laboratory assistant as well as health and safety technician among others. Our courses are all MQA approved and we are in consultation with foreign institutions to introduce internationally recognized qualifications and courses,” says Dr Paratian.

The Graduate School of Health and Social Care also operates jointly with a Mauritian partner “Wellbeing” a training specialist in nursing and human care. “We put a lot of emphasis on prior experience and in line with the project of making of Mauritius a medical hub, we are contributing to the construction of this project. Moreover the Occupational Health and Safety Act done quite a number of criteria for the employment of medical and health assistants. We have hence made our best to provide locals with the best international courses recognized around the world.”

Training in the field of health and wellbeing will be a very important item of the Salon on Health. Two Healing Hands, directed by Faizal Chundoo, will be another training institution present at the salon to promote massage reflexology and ayurvedic courses. “Natural therapy using essential oils, Ayurveda and natural medicines is what we propose as alternative to chemical treatment,” says Chundoo.

“The courses are all MQA aopproved and we are a branch of the Healing Hands International Massage Academy”, found in South Africa.

For Dr Mukhesh Sooknundun, Otorhinolaryngologist and Director of Clinique du Nord, another potential participant, medical tourism, high technology services for beauty and aesthetics care will be the clinic's most salient features.

Clinique du Nord
The clinic which at first started with a few basic traditional health care services now offers services of a full fledged clinic. Banking on innovation, the clinic's director recognized the opportunities in the field of beauty and aesthetics “Medical tourism is a sector presently in full bloom on the local and regional levels. We have the equipment but qualified human resources are still scarce. The need right now is to enhance training to match the demands of this growing beauty and aesthetics market,” explains Dr Sooknundun.

“Foreigners are still quite hesitant to come to Mauritius for these surgeries and we need to promote our island as a safe and professional destination for medical tourism especially when it comes to aesthetics and beauty,” he adds.

For the Clinique du Nord’s Director, competition can only benefit the sector. It will inevitably compel  clinics to provide the best services at competitive prices and in the best conditions. “Since the setting up of our clinic, we have tried to innovate and we are the first to have brought high technologies for laser surgery, aesthetics, skin, face and body surgery. We have tried to bring to Mauritians as well as foreigners access to services such as tele conferences for families to get advice from foreign professionals in any field.”

After 20 years of operation, the Clinique du Nord keeps on innovating and investing in the training of its personnel. “The proper training of our staff has been a major part of our investment, throughout these years. We have ensured that the best professionals in each fields collaborate with us so that we may offer the very best of services, all around the clock,” Dr Sooknundun says.

For Ravish Parepiah, the participation of NGOs was also very important. “The support of NGOs was vital because of their proximity to the people. They are better acquainted with the needs and problems of locals and will freely dispense any nutritive and health advice to visitors,” he says.