12 September 2019, 16:40 (-05)

St. Kitts and Nevis MOVES!!

On Friday August 9, 2019 St. Kitts and Nevis became the fourth island to join the regional fight against non-communicable diseases with the launch of SKN Moves. With a two day event, starting with a media launch in Independence Square, Prime Minister Hon. Timothy Harris introduced the programme and encouraged the general public to "do much more than they have been in the prevention and control of non communicable diseases" . On the second day of the launch, he hosted a 4 mile walk health walk. Here are some of the highlights.

1. It was only fitting that Jamaica's Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Chris Tufton was on location to observe the launch of SKN Moves after all, he has been championing the need for the region to work together and to collaborate in the fight against NCDs under the Caribbean Moves umbrella.

2. The vibe in the Caribbean is like no other, and the Caribbean Moves initiative is clearly here to capitalise on it. Using the rhythm of the Caribbean they are using song and dance to get people active. I mean where else in the world do you see the Prime Minister of a country on a platform dancing and encouraging people to do the same because its for their health. Go PM Harris!

3. So St. Kitts and Nevis has a population of 55, 345 people - small country we know... but the turn out for their launch was huge! Look on this photo that doesn't even show half the people who turned out for the SKN Moves Health Walk at 5am on a Saturday.

4. Across all age groups we are fighting non communicable diseases and these two gentlemen are here to prove. The man on the left is 74 and the one on the right is 87 and they walked the entire 4 miles and told us that they had no plans on slowing down!

5. At the end of the walk, everyone lauded how well the event was and how much they look forward to all SKN Moves will offer to the country. They also stayed and indulged in fruit plates because afterall a key component of the programme is to eat healthy!