Health Ministry Gets Corporate Jamaica Moving

The Ministry of Health is getting corporate Jamaica involved in its healthy lifestyle drive through its ‘Jamaica Moves Get Moving Corporate Challenge’.

The official launch of the challenge was held on July 19 at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.

As part of the larger ‘Jamaica Moves’ campaign, the Corporate Challenge is encouraging organisations to become health ambassadors in promoting healthy lifestyle habits among staff.

Under the challenge, companies are encouraged to compete in six events across the island from September 10 to December 2.

These are: the Fortis 5K Run, September 10; the Colour Me Happy Charity Run, September 16; the Cumi Come Run, Walk/Run September 23; the Heroes in Action 5K Run/Walk, October 15; the University of the West Indies (UWI) 5K Walk/Run, November 12; and the Reggae Marathon Half Marathon and 10K on December 2.

The entry fee for up to 50 staff is $75,000 while the fee for up to 100 staff members is $125,000.

Companies will earn points from their participation in the events and entities with the most points at the end of the circuit will be declared the ‘Jamaica Moves Get Moving Corporate Challenge’ winner.

Keynote speaker at the launch, Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said the objective is to get all members of society to practise healthy lifestyle habits for good health.

“This is a possible game changer in trying to influence lifestyle in Jamaica…we are looking for ambassadors for the cause. We are looking for Jamaicans at the corporate, individual and community levels. Lifestyle (habits) matter in terms of the quality, length of life, productivity and capacity to perform on the job and your general well-being,” he pointed out.

Dr. Tufton said Jamaica Moves is a preventative mechanism and is the first line of defence in order to promote healthier living among the population.

“The reality is that most of us don’t practise healthy habits but if we do this collectively, we encourage others,” he said.

The ‘Jamaica Moves’ campaign, which was launched in April this year encourages Jamaicans to incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity along with healthy eating habits in their daily lives, in order to reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the population.

NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers, account for 70 per cent of total deaths in Jamaica.

Participating companies in the Jamaica Moves Get Moving Corporate Challenge include the Jamaica National Group; the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund; the National Health Fund (NHF) and Running Events Limited.

For more information on the events and registration, visit: www.jamaicamoves.com.