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The Ugandan government has ordered ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to institute weekly physical exercise sessions for their staff to tame the rising burden of lifestyle diseases, local media reported.
The directive was shared in a letter to government agencies from the head of public service, Lucy Nakyobe, who said the sessions would “help save the lives of staff and reduce the disease burden”.
It comes two years after a national health survey showed obesity rates in the country had risen from 17% to 26% in the last 17 years, the BBC reported.
This is not the first time Uganda’s government has introduced initiatives to encourage exercise. In 2018, Uganda brought in the national day for physical activity which sees sporting activities held across the country.
Dr Charles Oyoo Akiya, the commissioner for non-communicable diseases prevention, told local media that the health ministry had already been running exercise sessions for their staff, and they wanted to see it adopted across all departments.
