WINDHOEK – Special Olympics Namibia held its Healthy Community (HC) project on expanding health among athletes through the Training The Trainers (TTT) programme, unveiling nine doctors to receive training in optometrics and dentistry in Windhoek last weekend.
Upon completion of their training, the nine medical practitioners will be tasked with expanding the various athletics health initiatives, while also striving to inspire and improve the overall health standard of people with intellectual disabilities in various communities.
Amongst various standpoints, the trainee doctors will put special emphasis on addressing health conditions such as chronic pain, disease, blindness and hearing loss. The doctors will also carry out practical tests in which they will screen about 20 HC athletes with regard to their health based on podiatry, dentistry, vision and physical therapy.
“HC was implemented in September last year as a preliminary in 14 Special Olympics programmes around the world in an effort to reduce disparities in health access and health status in athletes with intellectual disabilities,” said Dr Kagiso Moloi, the Special Olympics Health Athlete Manager.
Moloi highlighted that with the current 14 preliminary training programmes continuing worldwide, innovative solutions have been implemented to improve the health care for Special Olympics athletes. He encouraged those that fall in the intellectual disability category to join Special Olympics Namibia for free.
Furthermore, Special Olympics Namibia aims to increase the health care knowledge of how to sufficiently meet the health needs of people with intellectual disability awareness campaigns. Trainee doctors from the Oshana, Hardap and Khomas regions attended the two-day training.