New Delhi: More than 350 people joined Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in the ‘Health for All’ walkathon organised by his ministry on Friday (April 7) on the occasion of World Health Day. The participants walked from Vijay Chowk to Nirman Bhawan in central Delhi passing through Kartavya Path and India Gate to spread awareness about healthy habits to keep away non-communicable diseases at bay and have positive effects on mental well-being. Apart from Dr Mandaviya, Minister of State for Health Bharti Pravin Pawar also took part in the walkathon.
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The participants took a pledge to adopt healthy and active living to prevent and control lifestyle-related health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, mental illness and cancer.
Dr Mandaviya thanked everyone for their participation in the event.
The Union health minister said,
India has the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam where we think about the progress of all and not just self. This philosophy was followed during the Covid crisis when India provided vaccines and medical supplies to the countries in need without considering any commercial profits.
“India has been at the forefront of helping every stakeholder. With this spirit, India is working for the health of its citizens and the world.”
Highlighting the significance of health in the country’s development, Dr Mandaviya said,
Under the leadership of the prime minister, India has connected health to development. Only healthy citizens can create a healthy society and, in turn, a developed nation. In this Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, I urge you all to work together to create a developed and healthy India.
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Ms Pawar noted that the “Health for all” concept originates from the fact that a healthy person not only contributes positively to their family but also to society. World Health Day aims to promote awareness among people towards the importance of good health.
Non-communicable diseases currently account for more than 63 per cent of all deaths in the country and are linked with major behavioural risk factors such as the use of tobacco and alcohol, poor dietary habits, insufficient physical activity and air pollution, the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.
One of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases is physical inactivity. According to the National NCD Monitoring Survey (2017-18), 41.3 per cent of Indians are physically inactive. Physical activity not only lowers the risk of non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer but also has positive effects on mental health, and delays the onset of dementia.
Also Read: Good Health Is Dependent On Access To Good Sanitation Facilities: Union Minister Smriti Irani
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
