On Friday 9th August 2019, St Kitts and Nevis joined the Caribbean Moves family with the launch of SKN Moves.
Caribbean Moves is an initiative launched in 2018 that is based on the successful Jamaica Moves campaign and focuses on physical activity, healthy eating and age-appropriate health checks.
SKN Moves follows the launch of Barbados Moves and TT Moves at the end of last year all with the aim of tackling non-communicable diseases, which is now the major health challenge facing the Caribbean.
The launch of SKN Moves took place in Independence Square in Basseterre and was a whole-day event featuring health stalls, healthy food, exercise challenges and free health checks.
The formal launch ceremony began at 4pm and was chaired by Dr Hazel Laws, Chief Medical Officer, with remarks given by Senator Wendy Phipps, Senator with responsibility for health, and Dr the Honourable Timothy Harris, the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis. Additionally, special guest Dr the Honourable Chris Tufton, the Minister of Health in Jamaica, attended and discussed Jamaica Moves and its expansion into schools and workplaces.
With 83% of deaths in St Kitts and Nevis being attributed to non-communicable diseases, an effective approach to facilitating healthy lifestyle changes amongst the public is much-needed.
SKN Moves’ focus on physical activity, healthy eating and annual health checks can create a healthy environment that reduces the public’s risk of developing NCDs such as diabetes and heart disease.
During the formal launch ceremony, Dr Timothy Harris explained how they’ll be measuring the success of the campaign. He informed the audience that their objectives are to facilitate
- A 10% reduction in physical inactivity by 2020
- A 5% increase in the consumption of fruit and vegetables
- A 5% increase in the number of people accessing one medical check-up a year
- An overall 10% reduction in the prevalence of NCDs by 2025
SKN Moves started this journey with a focus on physical activity and on Saturday 10th August at 5am, a health walk was organised to highlight the importance of keeping fit and active.
We look forward to seeing what the future holds for SKN Moves and how the Ministry of Health aims to build on the three focus areas of the campaign. We wish them every success with this initiative and encourage everyone to get involved.
Another issue is really that video gaming has become one of the all-time main forms of excitement for people of nearly every age. Kids play video games, and adults do, too. The XBox 360 is one of the favorite games systems for many who love to have a huge variety of games available to them, plus who like to play live with people all over the world. Many thanks for sharing your notions.
Thank you for visiting our website. Yes, nowadays, people are less active and spend a lot of time on their devices; therefore, they are not getting the recommended amount of daily physical activity. We hope that through the government’s SKN Moves programme, the public will be encouraged and even excited to take part in exercise and physical activity as this programme continues to promote fun ways of getting active.