James Kon
The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday received a boost in its efforts to implement health programmes to combat the growing concern of non-communicable diseases with the contribution of BND250,000 from Gleneagles JPMC following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The initiative include a workplace and health (WAH) programme; the Happy Environment and Lifestyle (HEAL) programme; Growing, Learning, Optimising Towards Better Well-Being in Schools Programme (GLOW) .
The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham Haji Jaafar as the guest of honour at the VIP Hall, Rizqun International Hotel.
Signing the MoU on behalf of the Government of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam was Deputy Permanent Secretary (Professional) at the MoH Dr Ang Swee Hui, while Gleneagles JPMC was represented by its Chief Executive Officer Dr Peter Tay.
Head of the Health Promotion Centre Dr Hajah Norhayati binti Haji Muhammad Kassim and Gleneagles JPMC Chief Operating Officer ‘Izzul Hamzi bin Haji Jomari witnessed the signing.
Dr Tay shared, “As part of our corporate social responsibility, Gleneagles JPMC has always supported the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Today, the world is witnessing an epidemic of lifestyle diseases otherwise known as non-communicable diseases or NCD. These include obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary heart disease, strokes and cancer.”
He added, “The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a war on lifestyle diseases and under Brunei vision 2035, one of the main goals is to focus on achieving a high quality of life.
“This includes self-development and adopting a healthy lifestyle.“
He described the signing as “signifying a continued commitment to promote a healthy lifestyle culture and supporting initiatives to prevent and control non-communicable diseases in Brunei Darussalam.”
He also revealed updates and expansion of the WAH, HEAL and other health programmes under the MoU.
He said, “We are excited to be a part of the GLOW programme, which aims to make every school a health promoting school to empower them to implement comprehensive health promotion programmes and to provide recognition for their effort to promote health within school community.”
Under the WAH programme, a total of 39 body mass index weighing scale and stadiometer and 52 sphygmomanometers have been distributed to 12 ministries.
Approximately 20,000 civil servants have participated in basic health screenings, and 598 exercise sessions have been conducted since 2019.
Additionally six ministries participated in the pilot weight loss programme called the Fit & Active Lifestyle Club (FALC) in 2022.
The WAP website offers four online modules with a total of 18 topics to promote a healthy lifestyle and increase knowledge and competency in health promotion and disease prevention in workplaces since its establishment in 2022.
Meanwhile, the HEAL programme supports physical activity interventions by building, strengthening, and maintaining social networks that provide opportunities for physical activity.
Since 2019, 2,583 participants participated in 23 physical activity events.
The HEAL Programme will be expanded to include community initiatives focussing on nutrition and anti-tobacco efforts.
The GLOW Programme adopts a whole-of-school approach to promote health and educational accomplishment within school communities.
As of January 2023, six schools have been recruited into the Health Promoting Schools (HPS) initiatives, and 61 teachers from 34 private schools attended a two-day HPS Initiatives Workshop.
