New taskforce to boost health promotion |03 November 2012

Made up of key people from the various sections of the Ministry of Health, the team met yesterday for the first time.

Principal secretary for health Veronique Laporte said the health promotion taskforce will harness what has already been done by the ministry.

She added that the Ministry of Health needs the support of the general public as everyone has an important role to play in health promotion.

The taskforce‘s focus will be on establishing a framework incorporating health promotion activities of the ministry to improve healthy living within the population.

It will also continuously improve on health programmes and services within the ministry.
Miss Laporte said the adolescents group will be one of the main targets of the taskforce along with diseases which are the main causes of deaths locally.

“We need to put together all our resources, especially the human resources for us to be able to lead in terms of health promotion,” she said.

“It is a cost implication on the running of the services offered by the ministry and it is also important for everyone in the community to look at their own health as individual responsibility is required.”

She added that various sub-groups will be created together with the private sector, non-governmental organisations and the civil society.

Miss Laporte said the team will be action-oriented and this is why it has been called a taskforce and not a committee.