A week dedicated to efforts to make Samoa a healthier country started yesterday.
The opening of the commemoration of the Healthy Lifestyle Week was held at the To’oa Salamasina Hall.
Initiated by the Ministry of Health, the Week is designed to raise public awareness about the dangers of non-communicable diseases and the importance of healthy living.
<script async src="http://www.samoaobserver.ws///pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<!-- ads-articles(24.03.14) -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-9419815128221199"
data-ad-slot="2395638412"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>
In his Keynote Address, the Minister of Health, Tuitama Dr Talalelei Tuitama, reminded that prevention is better than cure. “Commemoration of healthy lifestyle week has been a collective effort of the Ministry of Health and its partners to combat and control the increasing rate of lifestyle diseases,” said Tuitama.
“Non communicable disease are affecting the lives of many of our people…the objective is through the engagement of the community and society to encourage and advocate the importance of adopting healthy lifestyle behaviour and making healthy choices.”
More than two hundred representatives from schools, churches, villages, government Ministries and different organisations gathered for the Opening Ceremony.
The theme for this year is “Small Healthy Choices Create Great Impacts.”
According to Tuitama, the theme conveys a message “that daily choices will consequently affect our health in the long run.”
“With rising number of lifestyle disease case's in Samoa and the rising costs of required resources for treatment, the provision of essential health care services for treatment of diseases has been a challenge to the health system, in terms of sustainability given the financial demands,” said the Minister of Health.
“This is further reason for the Ministry to invest more effort in raising public awareness in order to strengthen prevention measures by encouraging the public to make healthy lifestyle choices.”
The Ministry also gave out prizes to several schools who had participated in health programmes.
<!-- 336x280 (bottom-article) -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-2469982834957525"
data-ad-slot="1033882026"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>{/googleAds}