By Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
The Convener of De Amazone Road Waka, Jennifer Okoye on Saturday
said that the benefits she derived from regular exercise prompted her into partnering Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (PLASCHEMA), Jay FM, the Police and other organisations to organise the fitness walk.
Okoye disclosed this in an interview with journalists after the maiden exercise in Jos, the Plateau State Capital, (a five-kilometre fitness road walk).
According to her, ”I have been doing fitness walk and other exercises for the past 20 years and in the last 15 years I have not been to the hospital for any reason.
”We eat all manner of things and we don’t exercise this is why what we consume largely becomes a problem to our bodies.
”This is what prompted me to do this as part of my contribution toward having a healthy population in this state,”she said.
Okoye expressed deep delight over large outing for the exercise, adding that it was an indication that the people were ready to adopt better and healthy lifestyles.
Also speaking, Dr Solomon Kwande, the Director of Operations of
Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (PLASCHEMA), said that the road walk is aimed towards achieving it mandate of ensuring Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the state.
According to him, ‘PLASCHEMA is an agency saddled with the responsibility of advancing the course of UHC in Plateau and if you look at what UHC is, it entails that every citizen of the state is able to have access to health promotion ‘ disease prevention, treatment and rehabilitation where there is need.
”We agreed to this partnership as an opportunity to entrench one of the spheres of our service delivery to the people because physical activity as an entity in lifestyle medicine has a huge responsibility in promoting healthy living.
”It prevents the development of chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, high liquid profile within the blood system, among others, which contribute significantly to the morbidity and mortality status in our society.
”So, regular physical activity such as this is a way of making the people imbibe physical activity as a means of living a healthy lifestyle,”he said.
Earlier, Mr Dung Dalyop, the state Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, thanked the organisers for putting the event together, adding that such would promote healthy living among the citizens.
He said that the state goverment would continue to partner organisations and individuals who want to promote healthy lifestyle through sports and other meaningful ways.
