Arthur Ashe Institute collaborates with Wildfowl Trust

THE Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (AAIUH), located in multi-ethnic Brooklyn, was founded in 1992 by tennis champion and humanitarian, Arthur Ashe.

Since its inception, the Institute has collaborated with community members to reduce morbidity and mortality from disease through improved access to care and increased health knowledge among the most vulnerable populations in urban, under served areas. The Institute collaborates with community members to design, incubate and replicate neighbourhood- based interventions that address health conditions that disproportionately affect minorities, reduce health disparities, improve outcomes for under served groups and better prepare a more inclusive workforce.

Every year, the AAIUH partners with Non-Governmental Organisations to carry out a research programme for secondary school students, focused on public health issues.

The Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust has been collaborating with this organisation for the past three years and continues this year with research focused on disease outbreaks due to natural disasters.

Participating students conduct their study at the Trust, collating information from Trust visitors about their knowledge about natural disasters and their links to public health issues. Students participate in interactive presentations with Dr Maurice Frank, a veterinarian working at the Pan American Health Organisation; Trust educator Tamara Goberdhan, Trust president Molly R Gaskin and vice president Karilyn Shephard, who share wide-ranging discussions, as this programme is designed to address the social determinants of public health and their linkages, in Trinidad and Tobago.