Ministry of Health re-launches weekly walk-for-life

Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai and Minister of Health, Daniel Toara joined about 100 public officers from the Ministry of Health, Department of Health and Vila Central Hospital in a parade through Port Vila Wednesday afternoon to mark the re-launching of the weekly walk-for-life for public servants.

The parade started at Anchor Inn and ended at Saralana Park where speeches were made by the Minister of Health and the Director General of Health, George Taleo to emphasize the importance of regular physical exercise to combat diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCD).

“The increase in the prevalence of NCD and coupled with limited staff makes it important that everyone must participate in stopping this increase through people making changes to their lifestyles,” the Minister of Health said.

“Diabetes is a lifestyle disease and it can be stopped by simple things including regular exercise, better diet and reducing smoking and alcohol so that NCD doesn’t affect people and they can live longer.

“Some are already affected, which is unfortunate, but people must visit NCD clinics and get access to information from the provinces, health centres, hospitals. Dressers and authorities are already ready to provide information,” Minister Kalo added.

“Anyone who does not know anything about NCD or diabetes should check out such places to get information to prevent against NCD, which causes heart attacks, hypertension, asthma and other such non-communicable diseases.

“These diseases affect the families and if they affect the families mean they affect the nation. It’s important that we have a healthy nation of peoples who are healthy.”

Jean-Jacque Rory, Officer-in-charge of Public Health, explained that the aim of the parade saying it was to draw the attention of staff in other public sector organizations to the importance of physical activities to healthy living. It was also to re-launch the weekly Wednesday afternoon time off for public servants to do physical exercise.

He said the Public Service Commission decided a few years ago to discontinue the weekly time off because some people were misusing the time. But due to the increasing prevalence of NCD among public servants the Council of Ministers decided to allow resumption of the weekly walk for life.

“The Ministry of Youth Development and Sports was tasked with getting the weekly walk for life to start off again and since it has been slow getting off the Minister of Health decided to make it his task and today we see the re-launching of the weekly walk for life.”

The parade also coincided with today’s World Health Day Celebration taking place this morning at the Amicale Soccer Field opposite the Lycee Louis Antoine de Bougainville in Port Vila with the theme “Together in the front line against Diabetes”.

The program will include an address from the Ministry of Health, Daniel Toara, and activities from Wan Smol Bag Theatre, Anabrou School, Malasitapu Youth and nutrition awareness.