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Caribbean Wellness Day

There is to be no traffic on Broad Street for four hours on Saturday, Septmeber 13.  This is because  Caribbean governments have declared the second Saturday of September Caribbean Wellness Day and The Ministry of Health, National Insurance and Social Security is placing the focus on wellness in Bridgetown for the first ever observance of the day.





According to Dr. Kenneth George of the Chronic Non-Communicable
Diseases (CNCD) Department of the Ministry,  all of the Caribbean Governments have signed
on to making the second Saturday of September Caribbean Wellness Day as a first
step in acknowledging that the Caribbean has a critical problem with
CNCDs.   “We at the Ministry thought that
for this first year having our main town, Bridgetown transformed into a centre
of health would help to bring to the awareness of the populace how serious the
problem is,    and that the government
plans along with the rest of the Caribbean to address the problem aggressively
over the coming months.”

 

At a
recently held meeting at the Ministry involving the Royal Barbados Police Force,
PRMR Inc. and the Ministry of Transport, Works and International Transport
(MTW), the representative of MTW laid out a plan for Bridgetown to ensure easy traffic flows
around the town.  Technical Officer of
MTW Jason Bowen said that there should be no major disruptions as the only road
that will be closed is Broad
Street
itself and all the car parks would be
accessible for parking as usual.  Station
Sergeant Stanford said that the police would be in place to ensure that the
four hours closure from 9am to1pm runs smoothly.

 

Dr. George
said that the Ministry has been beating the pavements in Bridgetown over the last couple of weeks
handing out circulars to store owners. 
“It is the Ministry’s intention to get everyone in Bridgetown on board.  A number of stores have pledged their support
for Caribbean Wellness Day and have promised to contribute by placing a number
of store items relating to healthy and wellness or otherwise on sale on the
day.    The
main aim of the Caribbean Wellness Day Programme is to make the city a health
zone, and place our current epidemic top of every individual’s mind.  The Ministry is promoting walking and a smoke
free environment.  There will be a number
of featured areas.  In Independence Square there will be a stage
set up and the public is invited to exercise with some of Barbados’ best
aerobic instructors or dance with some of the country’s popular local artists.  This area is expected to be electrifying as
there is a great line up of fitness and entertainment.  In Heroes
Square
the public is invited to have blood
pressure, sugar or cholesterol tests done, and speak to any of the doctors
present on any issue relating to CNCDs. 
Nutrition and a smoke free Barbados
will be the focus in Jubilee
Gardens
.

 

The Ministry is asking the public to
do its part by cooperating with the traffic restriction on the day, which is no
traffic on Broad Street.

 

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