Shaping Up - Ni-Vanuatu Women In Action

Shaping Up - Ni-Vanuatu Women In Action
http://www.pmc.aut.acnz/pacific-media-watch/2011-03-24/vanuatu-shaping-ni-vanuatu-women-action

PORT VILA (AUT University/Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch): With the assistance of Auckland University of Technology, the Ministry of Health Vanuatu will next week launch a programme for female civil servants to reduce risk factors for noncommunicable diseases and to harness a healthier and more productive workforce.

The opening will be on March 28 at the EX-FOL near the Department of Youth and Sport.

The groundbreaking new physical activity programme specifically targets the needs of ni-Vanuatu women and invites all female civil servants to lead the way for a healthier Vanuatu.

The goal is to increase physical activity levels and local food consumption - and improve health.

Wokabaot Jalens is a forward step – 1 million steps altogether.

Participants will aim for their personal recommended step count of 10,000 a day, which they also contribute to a team goal.

Two hundred participants are expected and will be equipped with healthy lifestyle tools to monitor lifestyle habits during the eight weeks of the project. The women will undergo health screenings to test blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar in order to visualise improvements over the course of the programme.

The project is monitored by public health experts from AUT University.

The programme is funded by the World Health Organistion and is based on world leading evidence as it has proven to be successful in other countries, such as the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Now is the first time of an implementation in a Pacific island country, adapted to ni-Vanuatu custom and culture. If successful in Vanuatu, it could be adapted to neighbouring island countries to advance Pacific population health.

Civil servants lead way
In 2007, the Ministry of Health Vanuatu implemented the Walk for Life programme – a government response which aims to halt and reverse the spread of NCDs and to increase employees’ well-being and productivity. Government workers set the role model to the population.

“It is time to stimulate ni-Vanuatu women with more physical activity and health awareness if we want to improve population health. In our assessment of the Walk for Life programme we found that women participate least in the activities," says public health researcher Katja Siefken.

“By adopting a long-term healthy lifestyle they can influence their family, friends and neighbours for a healthier future of the country.”

Health marketing tools will motivate the women to adapt healthier lifestyles and to add years to their life and life to their years, she says.

ENDS

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