Sheikh Ansar Aziz, Mayor of Islamabad stressed that "Think about what you eat and drink. Think about exercise. Think about how you get medicines and how you take them. Think about what you can do to keep yourself and your family safe, healthy and well. Stop for a moment and ask what you can do for yourself to make health and wellness a reality for you. Each and every one of you are the most valuable resource of this our beloved country."
He was addressing the participants of a walk to mark World Health Day. World Health Day is celebrated every year around the world on April 7. This year's theme of the World Health Day was 'Beat diabetes: Scale up prevention, strengthen care, and enhance surveillance.'
The walk was organised by Shifa International Hospital and objective of this event was to promote active and healthy living. A large number of school children, SIH officials, civil society representatives, citizens of twin cities, doctors, medical and nursing students participated in the walk. Sheikh Ansar Aziz, while appreciating the role of mainstream media, also highlighted the significance of the day. He said "World Health Day provides an opportunity for the world community to come together for one day to focus on actions that can improve the health of all our people. Every year we highlight one important issue - but we ask everyone to consider all the things we need to do to keep our people healthy and well." He appreciated Shifa International Hospital and its management team for taking an initiative in this noble cause of public awareness by organising this walk.
Shifa's Sports Tournament was also launched on this occasion. Sheikh Ansar Aziz, Mayor of Islamabad formally cut the ribbon to launch the sports week. During a media briefing after the formal opening, Sheikh Ansar Aziz said that it is good to see that Shifa International Hospital is the best tertiary care hospital that promote healthy and active lifestyle and boost mental and physical health of the Shifa family members. He added that meanwhile, it is a great opportunity to develop a foundation of a healthier society and nation by spreading education and awareness for prevention of the disease. Media can also play an important role to disseminate this message to the broader set of audience.
Director Medical Services SIH, Dr Mian Amjad Sohail said that "A healthy diet and plenty of exercise. Don't smoke. Drink responsibly. Drive safely. Look out for yourselves, your friends and your family - don't put yourself at risk. Keep out of harm's way. These are not new messages but we need to do more to make these messages real for each and every one of us." Earlier, he highlighted the importance of World Health Day.-PR