The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Social Services is calling on men across the Commonwealth of Dominica to make their health a priority, as Caribbean Wellness Month 2026 gets under way under the theme « Engage, Empower, Elevate ».
At the centre of the month’s activities is a Men’s Health Fair organised by the Grand Bay Health Team, which will focus on general wellness and prostate cancer awareness. The fair is being staged in collaboration with the China–Dominica friendship hospital arrangement, bringing together local health workers and visiting medical personnel to offer services and information directly to men in the south of the island.
Prostate cancer remains one of the most common cancers affecting men in the Caribbean, and health officials have long stressed that early detection saves lives. The fair is designed to encourage men to check their health status, ask questions about warning signs, and take up screening where it is offered, rather than waiting until symptoms become severe.
The Grand Bay Health Team serves communities in the south-eastern part of Dominica, and the choice of venue reflects the ministry’s push to take health services beyond Roseau and into the parishes. Men attending the fair can expect to receive information on prostate health, blood pressure and blood sugar checks, and guidance on diet, exercise and stress management — the everyday factors that shape long-term health.
Caribbean Wellness Month is observed each September across the region, coordinated through the Caribbean Public Health Agency and the Pan American Health Organization, and it places particular emphasis on non-communicable diseases. These conditions — including hypertension, diabetes and cancers — account for a large share of illness and death in the Eastern Caribbean, and men are often less likely than women to seek care early.
The ministry’s message for 2026 is that men should not treat their health as an afterthought. Under the theme « Engage, Empower, Elevate », the campaign asks men to engage with health services, empower themselves with information, and elevate their wellbeing for the sake of their families and communities.
Health officials say the Men’s Health Fair is intended to be a welcoming space, not a clinic of last resort. Men are encouraged to attend with relatives and friends, to ask about prostate screening, and to follow up with their regular health centre afterwards if any concern is identified.
Further details on the date, time and location of the fair are expected to be released by the Grand Bay Health Team and the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Social Services as Caribbean Wellness Month 2026 approaches. Dominica 1 will carry those official announcements as they are issued.
