About 150 expats from the East African communities converged upon the East African Community and Cultural Center in San Diego Feb. 14 to the “Love Your Heart” event so they can take charge of their health.
The countywide event was organized by the United Women of East Africa and sponsored by a number of faith, cultural and health care agencies, as well as community-based organizations.
The goal of the event was to offer participants such health care tests as blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
There’s an urgent need to let our communities know that many of the diseases they suffer from could be prevented, said Amina Shiek Mohamed, a senior manager with the Community Mobilization Programs at UC San Diego and who also works with refugees from Somalia and other East African communities.
“We wanted to give them numbers and make sure they understood that certain numbers should not go beyond certain limits,” said Mohamed.
According to a 2012 California Health Interview Survey, the percentage of African American teen and adults in California who reported being overweight or obese was 68.5%, and in San Diego County, it was 62.9%. The survey indicated that the East African community there suffers disproportionately from preventable chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.
“Back home, our community mostly dealt with communicable diseases, but here they have chronic diseases,” said Mohamed.
Nurses and other health care providers from local health care clinics busied themselves with visitors anxious to know their vital signs.
Jama Mohamed, 25, an undergraduate student at San Diego State University, who came to the US as a refugee in 1996, cheerfully provided interpreter services. The young man plans to study mental health care because there was a great need for it in the community, he said.
“There are a lot of mental health problems in our communities and people don’t know where to look for help,” he said.
Groups that sponsored the event included the United Women of East Africa Support Team, San Diego East African Organizations, UCSD-Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Branch, County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency, Central Region Public Health Nurses, La Maestra Community Health Center, Copley YMCA, UCSD Eye Mobile Clinic, UCSD-Ladnaan Project and Live Well San Diego.