Schools are unique settings to establish a healthy lifestyle that would contribute to the improvement in the quality of life and longevity, says Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete.

The Minister for Health and Medical Services, made this remarks while opening the Workshop on ‘Strengthening Health Promoting Schools: Experience in the Pacific Islands’, at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi yesterday.

He said that globally, more than 90 per cent of children in the primary school age and 80 per cent of children in the lower secondary school age were enrolled in a school where they spent a third of their time.

“Schools are a unique setting for preventive interventions and school years is an important period to establish a healthy lifestyle that will contribute to the improvement in the quality of life and longevity,”Dr Waqainabete said.

“Since 2009, the Government of Fiji through the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts in collaboration with World Health Organisation (WHO) continued to advocate for schools to become Health Promoting Schools.”

In doing so the Health Ministry believes that Health Promoting Schools is a strategic vehicle to promote positive development and healthy behaviours such as physical activity, physical fitness, balanced nutrition and prevent tobacco use and which will eventually lead to the reduction of NCDs in our nation.

The minister said that since the launching of WHO’s Global School Health Initiative in 1995 which is guided by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion of 1986 the initiative has progressed significantly,’

This is in efforts to mobilise and strengthen health promotion and education activities to improve the health of students, school personnel, families and other members of the community through schools.

Edited by Percy Kean

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