To mark this year’s World Health Day 2021, with the theme “Building a fairer, healthier world”, the Dawoodi Bohras of Leicester hosted an informative webinar on Saturday 10th April for over 100 community members. The goal of the webinar was to educate individuals on how to take charge of their own health during a global pandemic that has impacted people’s physical and mental wellbeing.
This year, the World Health Organization called on leaders to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health. Empowered individuals make empowered communities, creating a more equal, sustainable and fairer healthcare system.
Bohra medical experts focussed on four health topics and highlighted important changes one can make to benefit one’s health.
Kickstarting with nutrition, Jamila Imani, a clinical nutritionist, focussed on the importance of gut health and its connection to all other parts of nutrition. Taking into account the upcoming month of Ramadan, she advised on easy steps that individuals can take to prioritise their nutritional health and spoke about how conditions such as diabetes can be well managed.
Tasneem Sheikh, a pharmacist, talked about the importance of sleep hygiene. In today’s fast paced world, it is important to ensure one gets a good night’s sleep, whilst being aware of the factors that can affect your sleep. She shared a few simple steps everyone can take to improve the quality of their sleep.
Student psychotherapists Zainab Master and Insiya Maimoon explored the impact of stress on wellbeing and mental health. Zainab advised on ways that stress, often accepted as simply a normal part of life, can manifest itself. Insiya explored the ways that stress impacts on our mental health and shared some practical ways to manage common mental health concerns. The students advocated removing the stigma attached to mental health and treating it with the same compassion and care as physical health.
Lastly, to get everyone moving, Ebrahim Hassanali, a musculoskeletal physiotherapist, guided the audience through common injuries during lockdown and emphasised the importance of taking regular breaks. He demonstrated simple exercises that everyone can do from the comfort of their own homes and encouraged members of the community to stay active. The pandemic has seen a surge in the number of people working from home and it is beneficial for individuals to learn about the necessary precautions to avoid long term injuries.
The Dawoodi Bohra community of Leicester has over 30 medical professionals in a variety of fields and strives to always give back to the local and wider community. Following a great response to the webinar, it is hoped that this event will be held annually to further empower community members as well as allow members from the wider community to participate.