Hanover students placed on a path to good health
Published:Tuesday | May 2, 2023 | 12:54 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
Western Bureau:
Students from within the Ministry of Education and Youth’s Region Four - St James, Hanover, and Westmoreland - were last Friday placed on a path to good health when they participated in the annual commemorative day of the Jamaica Moves in Schools initiative, which was held on the grounds of the Hopewell High School in Hanover.
The commemorative day initiative, which is staged on the last Friday in April of each year, is a combined effort by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the education ministry to promote healthy lifestyle, physical activity, and healthier ways to eat. It is part of the overall Jamaica Moves programme, which addresses the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
While only eight schools were on location at Hopewell High School for the day’s activities, students from other educational institutions participated in the activities through online connections.
In an interview with The Gleaner, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, the minister of state in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, said the focus was on the children because they want to educate them about good health practices.
“The children are who we are trying to focus on right now, to teach them healthier ways to live, because of our non-communicable diseases and the rates that we are having with diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease. We think it is important that we really focus on our youths if it is that we want to have a healthier society,” said Cuthbert-Flynn.
According to the state minister, the country needs to get its healthcare bills down for the future, and only by focusing on the children of the nation and teaching them healthier ways to live can that target be achieved. She said that a recent study showed that there is a rise in cases of diabetes in youths between the ages of 15 to 25 years and that children as young as seven years old are being affected by obesity.
“The healthcare system is overburdened as we speak, and so what we want to do is to make sure that our children are living healthier lifestyles, and this is why we are in the school today,” said Cuthbert-Flynn.
“Satisfaction will come only when there is a change in culture, a shift, with the children eating better.”