Ministry wants KCCA to reclaim recreation grounds
Nov 17, 2014
The ministry of health has asked municipal authorities to set up facilities where people can exercise from at no cost.
By Francis Kagolo
The ministry of health has asked municipal authorities to set up facilities where people can exercise from at no cost.
Health state minister Dr. Elioda Tumwesigwe cited inactivity and lack of routine exercise, especially in urban centres, as one of the major contributors to the increasing diabetes cases in the country.
Tumwesigye singled out Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for failing to salvage the recreational grounds which were turned into, washing bays, markets and shopping malls.
Former recreational grounds in Kampala include Centenary Park which now accommodates a host of bars and a children’s park in Wandegeya which war veterans grabbed.
Others like Sheraton hotel gardens and the City Square are no longer accessible to the public.
Dr. Tumwesigye asked KCCA and other urban authorities to put up lanes and parking yards for bicycles as a way of encouraging people to ride bicycles instead of using commuter taxis and private cars.
He was addressing the press at the ministry headquarters in Kampala on Thursday ahead of the World Diabetes Day commemoration
The national celebrations were held at Kabawala primary school in Nakifuma, Mukono district under the theme “Health living with diabetes”.
Diabetes is a chronic disease, which occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. This leads to an increased concentration of glucose in the blood (hyperglycaemia).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death in 2030. Already 347 million people worldwide have diabetes, which killed about 1.5 million people in 2012.
In Uganda, the ministry says over two million people have diabetes although 80% of these may not be aware.
It is attributed to physical inactivity, cigarette/tobacco smoking, harmful use of alcohol, and unhealthy diets like too much fats, sugar and fibre.
Tumwesigye also noted that the high numbers of boda-bodas (hire motorcycles) in Kampala and other urban centres were contributing to the problem as they deter people from the “simplest’ exercise of walking.
WHO says healthy diet such as fresh fruits and vegetables, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.
“It is possible to prevent diabetes through simple exercise. The problem is that people sit in offices all day and when they come out they drive or jump or use bodabodas instead of bicycles or walking,” he said.
“Many people move around not knowing they have diabetes until they see signs of blindness, impotence, strokes and heart diseases. Going for early detection is important to prevent or live healthy with diabetes,” the minister said.
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