The non-communicable disease situation in Marshall Islands was declared a “crisis” based on a 2018 hybrid survey which revealed many alarming statistics.
The survey showed high numbers of people with high blood pressure, heart disease, certain cancers and diabetes was at an all-time high.
Another unsettling statistic included evidence that obesity in young children was also growing, which sets the stage for early onset diabetes and a lifetime of hardship.
Five years later, a 2023 survey showed that little had improved, with diabetes worsening. The crisis was declared by one of our leading physicians as escalating from “crisis” to “disaster.”
Based on the 2018 statistics, the Majuro Wellness Center received a “Healthy Futures” grant from World Diabetes Foundation for $500,000 to address obesity in children from Kindergarten to eighth grade.
A year ago this week, the Healthy Futures three-year project was launched, with the Public School System as a primary partner. After a year of activity, “we want to bust out and share it with everyone!” said Lauren and Rick Wiegel, the co-directors of Wellness Center.
The interventions are aimed at behavior change of lifestyle through the education system. The focus is on shifting young students’ thinking about what they eat by integrating locally grown foods and meeting the World Health Organization expectation of exercise minutes daily.
A confluence of developments has opened opportunities for success in countering non-communication diseases, according to the Wellness directors. A new PSS physical education curriculum was introduced recently at the schools, along with PSS establishing gardens at the elementary schools in Majuro, Ebeye, Jaluit and Wotje. These initiatives dovetail with the Wellness Center outreach program for students.
To measure the success of the program, the “body mass index” of each elementary student was completed as baseline and will be done twice more over the next three years. “The anticipation is to see a drop in the 1,000+ kids that are already developing obesity and high risk of not having a healthy future,” the Wiegels said.
In addition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is providing needed and valued funds to greatly expand gardening initiatives in schools in Majuro and the outer islands.
The church has sponsored solar power components for three aeroponic tower gardens at three schools in Ebeye with potential of over 800 plants per school every three-to-four weeks. “This will not only provide children with healthier options in school lunches, but be enough to share,” said Lauren and Rick Wiegel, the co-directors of the Wellness Center at Majuro hospital.
The church “doesn’t stop there,” they said. “They are also sponsoring a new 20-tower aeroponic garden on the neighboring island of Wotje.”
The capacity of 20 towers is 880 plants every three-to-four weeks. Not only will the school children be served, there is a possibility of building an economy for a community market.
Another 18 soil gardens have also been established on Ebeye at other schools and community spaces.
These were planted last month with Wellness Gardening Engineer and Educator, Jo Dean, an accomplished gardening engineer and educator from Tasmania, brought to us by the Australian Volunteer Program.