Home : Community Health Event for Immigrants Reaches Out to African and Caribbean Women
Press Release
For Immediate Distribution
(En Francais)
Community Health Event for Immigrants Reaches Out to African and Caribbean Women
Free Health Services, Legal Advice, Opportunities for Children
(New
York) Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - For immigrant women who are
unfamiliar with the public healthcare system in New York City or in
need of immediate health assistance, African Services Committee is
hosting two special women's health screenings.
On Thursday, March 8 and Thursday, March 22, from 9:00 am to 12 noon,
African Services will again open its doors to women from Africa and the
Caribbean to provide a range of free health services and help them
connect with the many free health resources available to immigrants and
their children, regardless of their legal status.
Women will receive a wide range of health services, in a caring and confidential environment, including: breast
& gynecological exams; diabetes & blood pressure screening;
testing for HIV, TB, STDs, pregnancy; male and female condoms &
informational demonstration; registration for Child Health Plus.
A licensed pharmacist will be on site for individual consultations
and to answer women's questions about medications and treatment. The
multilingual staff of African Services will provide interpretation in
French, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and many African languages.
Free legal advice, including information for women about their
housing, employment, family and financial rights, will also be provided
by African Services staff attorneys.
Representatives from the Fresh Air Fund will be on-site providing information on their summer programs for children, and Child Health Plus will help women enroll themselves and their children in low-cost health insurance.
Many newcomers are not aware of the free and low-cost public health
care that is available to them in New York City, said Martha
Kahirmbanyi, MD., director of early intervention services at African
Services, which helps patients access care at hospitals across the
city. This is an opportunity for African and Caribbean women to get
together with ladies from a similar background and learn more about how
to take best care of themselves and their families.
About African Services
African Services Committee is a 25 year-old nonprofit organization
based in Harlem and dedicated to improving the health and
self-sufficiency of immigrants from across the African Diaspora. We
provide health, housing, legal, and social services to over 10,000
immigrants each year with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and
support. We are the oldest peer-to-peer provide of health services to
the African community in the U.S. and also work on the frontlines of
the global AIDS epidemic operating HIV testing and care centers in
Ethiopia. www.africanservices.org
