Ministry of Health Stages Weekend of Wellness
By: , September 10, 2023
Photo: Adrian Walker
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, demonstrates his physical fitness during a Caribbean Wellness Day event on Friday (September 8), at the VMBS grounds on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston.
Photo: Adrian Walker
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), shows off his skills with the hula hoop, during a Caribbean Wellness Day event on Friday (September 8), at the VMBS grounds on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston. Looking on at left is Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry, Dr. Simone Spence.The Full Story
Jamaica is celebrating Caribbean Wellness Day 2023 with a ‘Weekend of Wellness (WOW),’ involving free health checks, invigorating workout sessions, concert and nutritious food.
Activities kicked off on Friday (September 8) with a ‘Vitality Fest’ on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston, where members of the public received blood sugar, cholesterol, and Body Mass Index (BMI) checks.
Persons also engaged in fitness sessions, and enjoyed food sampling, a lunch hour concert and giveaways.
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, who officially opened the event, emphasised the need for more Jamaicans to get regular health screenings.
“We have too many people experiencing illness and death, unfortunately, because they are not knowing their health status, and wellness weekend is helping every Jamaican to know their status. We want everybody to live long healthy lives,” the Minister said.
Caribbean Wellness Day, a programme of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), is aimed at promoting a healthy way of life to combat the epidemic of chronic non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) in countries throughout the region.
It is observed on the second Saturday of September each year.
The overall theme for the period 2020-2024 is ‘Power Through Collective Action’ with this year’s activities under the sub-theme: ‘The Care we Need: At Work, At School, At Home’.
Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry, Dr. Simone Spence, told JIS News that this year, Jamaica decided to mark Caribbean Wellness Day with a weekend of activities, to place greater emphasis on the various health challenges, and to highlight the need for regular health screenings for early detection of diseases.
On Saturday (Sept. 9), the health team will be at the University of Technology’s (UTech) Old Hope Road campus for a free, four-hour ‘sweat fest’ from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Participants will get the chance to participate in a 3K Fun Walk/Run and a workout session.
The Weekend of Wellness culminates Sunday (Sept. 10) with a Corporate Wellness Brunch.
CARICOM has set a strategic goal of reducing avoidable deaths from NCDs by 25 per cent by 2025.