(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Caribbean Wellness Day (CWD) was ushered in before sunrise on Saturday at the headquarters of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Georgetown Guyana with hundreds of participants setting off on a Wellness walk.

Organised by the Guyana Ministry of Health, the CARICOM Secretariat, and Guyana’s office of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), a number of organisations, state bodies, private sector corporations and diplomatic missions took part in the walk from the Secretariat headquarters to the National Park, one of the physical activities in observance of CWD. Leading the walkers off were the Honourable Dr. Bheri Ramsarran Minister of Health of Guyana and Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite Deputy Secretary-General of CARICOM. Among the participants were Mr Tom Vlugman Officer-in-Charge, PAHO and His Excellency Dr. Brent Hardt, United States Ambassador to Guyana.

This year the Region will focus on the prevention and control of Non Communicable Diseases NCDs among children under the theme ‘Love that Body - Building the Foundation for Healthy Lifestyles'.

At the National Park, addresses were delivered by Dr Ramsarran, Ambassador Applewhaite and Mr Vlugman. These were preceded by a lively aerobic cool-down following the walk. There was also an athletic display by the children of the Rome Athletic Club.

The activities in Guyana also launched Wellness Month during which a programme organised by the Ministry of Health will be carried out. Other Member States and Associate Members of the Community will also be conducting programmes with a focus on children in the bid to stop the epidemic of NCDs which according to Mr Vlugman claims more than 36 million lives worldwide annually.

Today’s observances, the fifth of its kind, is in keeping with the 2007 Port-of-Spain Declaration ‘Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of NCDs’ which was issued following a Summit on the topic held by CARICOM Heads of Government in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.