(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be a buzz of activities on Saturday, 12 September in observance of the second Caribbean Wellness Day. The annual event, which focuses on reducing Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs), will be observed under the theme Love that Body, and is expected to build on last year's inaugural Caribbean Wellness Day.

Already, several countries are going full speed ahead with preparations to promote healthy lifestyles through physical activity and to “make every day a wellness day.”

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas takes the lead with an unprecedented “face-off” between preachers and politicians in a week of sporting competition for which the final showdown is set for September 12 under the slogan, Day of Redemption.

Barbados will launch, on September 12, a year-long physical activity programme under the patronage of Ms Marie-Josephine Mara Thompson, wife of the Prime Minister. The Ministry of Health in that country will also be promoting vehicle-free streets in Bridgetown, smoke-free environments and providing safe spaces for physical activity and healthy eating. Broad Street will be closed to vehicular traffic from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Activities are expected to begin with a five kilometre fun walk around Bridgetown, starting at 7:00 a.m.

In addition to parish-based activities, Jamaica plans to block the roads surrounding one of the first city’s centres - Half-Way-Tree Square - to launch a National 5K Run in collaboration with the Reggae Jamdammers Running Club of Kingston. It will be the first of series leading up to the annual Reggae Marathon in December.

Meanwhile, Saint Lucia will continue to expand its ongoing exercise programmes in six health centres across that island even while launching a National Walk commencing on Monday, 7 September to Saturday, 12 September.

St Vincent and the Grenadines will engage in a week of running, walking and biking competitions which will see the grand finals taking place at the Sports Complex in Queenstown on Wellness Day.

Trinidad and Tobago will again launch their second Streets for Wellness initiative in which they block several thoroughfares every Sunday to engage in physical activity. This collaborative initiative with the Private Sector will start on the first Sunday in September and continue through the year, as Trinidad and Tobago seeks to make every day a wellness day.

In the British Virgin Islands, the health ministry is mobilizing community-based activities that will include the launch of a 10-week campaign dubbed ‘Walking Your Way to Health’ with the aim of promoting walking activities at several levels while focusing on physical activity to ensure sustainability and good health.

In addition to promoting physical activity, the Community is also focussing on making every day a wellness day with emphasis on tobacco free environments, regular exercise, salt consumption reduction, alcohol avoidance and regular blood pressure checks.