“Healthy Ageing Starts Now” and “Healthy Schools” are the two themes guiding this year’s Observance of Caribbean Wellness Day/ Wellness Week.
It has been proven that non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure account for a significant number of deaths in the region.
The initiative is spearheaded by CARICOM and CARPHA.
Grenada will from September 14th roll out a series of programs, designed to educate the populace on best practices towards eliminating and or managing non communicable diseases.
Children and the elderly are the targets this year for Caribbean Wellness Week\ Wellness Day.
Senior Medical Officer, responsible for chronic diseases Dr. Sonia Nixon outlined activities planned for the week.
“In St. George’s we’re having a 7 o’clock beach walk exercise encounter on Grand Anse Beach. We’re going to meet at Camerhogne Park and move from there. In Grenville we’re going to have a health fair with an exercise program, we’re going to do some screening right at the market in Grenville at the magistrate’s court yard. And then in Carriacou.”
Added to these activities, different days will focus on specific health thrusts.
“We have the usual things of: Water only Wednesday, we ask you to only drink water;Fruit only Friday where you eat only fruits as a snack but we want to include a Thursday, a Turbo Thursday where everybody takes a few minutes and go walk, go dance fifteen minutes of exercise. Every worker, every child, everyone in Grenada makes an effort to spend fifteen minutes collectively. So an office or staff would get up and dance, you can play ring games, anything that gets us active and moving.”
The five main types of non-communicable diseases are cardio vascular diseases (like heart attack and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma), diabetes and mental health.
