MEC Dhlomo to talk to the media about his participation in this year’s ultimate race - The Comrades Marathon

The MEC for Health in KwaZulu-Natal invites members of the media to a press briefing and announcement of the MEC’s participation in the 2012 Comrades Marathon.

The press briefing is to be held as follows:
Date: 31 May 2012, Thursday
Time: 14h30
Venue: King’s Park Athletic Stadium, Durban

The MEC will speak to the media about his preparations, readiness and goals for this year’s Comrades Marathon. In 2011, MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo announced his participation in the ultimate human race as his effort in encouraging citizens to live a healthy and active life. During this announcement he also mentioned worthy courses that he was trying to raise fund for. The MEC will also announce other interventions that he will be embarking on in the fight against ill-health and inactivity in communities including cancer awareness programme targeting men.

Since the MEC chose to champion the health and active lifestyle programmes in the Province, a number of initiatives in support of the MEC’s call have been started in workplaces and communities. Healthcare workers in the Department of Health are already engaged in physical activity programmes in various offices and hospitals.

MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo says the World Health Organisation (WHO) report on NCDs says “People of lower social and economic positions fare far worse. Vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people get sicker and die sooner as a result of NCDs than people of higher social positions; the factors determining social positions are education, occupation, income, gender and ethnicity”.

“It is for this reason,” adds MEC Dhlomo, “that we must to reach the most vulnerable of our people.”

The World Health Statistics 2012 report, released two weeks ago has once again “given particular attention to conditions in low- and middle-income countries, which now bear nearly 80% of the burden from diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases”.

The report highlights that the four major risk factors i.e. tobacco use, unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity and harmful use of alcohol contribute to four chronic diseases i.e. heart disease, type two diabetes, lung disease and some cancers which, in turn, contribute to more than 80% of preventable deaths from non-communicable diseases.

One in three adults worldwide, according to the report, has raised blood pressure – a condition that causes around half of all deaths from stroke and heart disease. One in 10 adults has diabetes.

The MEC believes; “If we want to meet the agreed upon outcome 2 - A long and health Life for All South Africans - target of extending life expectancy, the trends in the risk factor profile must be reversed.”