Pilipinas Go4Health, the healthy lifestyle movement led by the Department of Health, is sweeping the nation. Since its launch in June, the movement has gained support from different local governments and organizations for its four key messages, Go Smoke-free (stop smoking), Go Sustansya (healthy diet), Go Sigla (physical activity), and Go Slow sa Tagay (moderate drinking).
Pilipinas Go4Health seeks to encourage Filipinos from all walks of life to commit to a healthy lifestyle through physical activity, proper nutrition, and the prevention or cessation of smoking and alcohol consumption. “There is abundant scientific and social evidence that addressing these habits is the path to better health,” DOH Secretary Enrique T. Ona said.
Cities of Balanga and Legazpi Go4Health
Balanga City, Bataan was the first city in the Philippines that launched the Pilipinas Go4Health movement in its locality. Balanga City, which has been tobacco-free since 2008, is a Hall of Famer in the DOH Red Orchid Award. The city is also taking its advocacy further by helping make the whole of Bataan a smoke-free province.
In response to DOH’s call for a healthy lifestyle, Legazpi City in Albay is bringing focus on Legazpi Boulevard as the city’s landmark for a healthy environment. The boulevard is an ideal location for locals and tourists to exercise and enjoy sports activities with a view of picturesque Mt. Mayon in the backdrop. The cool breeze from Albay Gulf also lets everyone breathe some fresh air while being active.
“This boulevard is a good response to the call of Go4Health on Filpinos to indulge in four habits that affect one’s health, one of them, physical activity,” Legazpi City Mayor Geraldine Rosal said.
In 2009, Legazpi City also implemented a city ordinance that bans smoking in public places, including government offices, parks, malls, markets, restaurants, pub houses, hospitals, churches and schools. Because of this, the city has been honored with the Red Orchid Award by the DOH for three consecutive years, elevating it to the Hall of Fame.
Wider support across the nation
To further promote Pilipinas Go4Health in the different regions of Cordillera, DOH partnered with the Cordillera Association of Regional Executives (CARE). The group’s officials and members are heads and assistant heads of government agencies who work with the Philippine workforce. Through the partnership, Pilipinas Go4Health will be able to reach its goal of tapping the workforce, which is 39 percent of the movement’s target.
The Center for Health Development of the Department of Health (CHD-DOH) also tapped the Regional Healthy Lifestyle Coalition for Pilipinas Go4Health. The coalition, composed of representatives from the national government agencies, local government units, non-government organizations, religious groups and the academe, will support the movement and conduct a launch by November to promote Pilipinas Go4Health among its members.
Furthermore, the Center for Health Development in Northern Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro City) led the launch of Pilipinas Go4Health in Region 10 recently. The event included a simultaneous walk of the participants to the event venue, where health advocates shared their insights and invited participants to start working on living a healthy lifestyle. The city officials, guest speakers and participants released balloons as a sign of their commitment to Pilipinas Go4Health.
For its part, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PRRI) released an internal memorandum stating its support for the healthy lifestyle campaign. PRRI works under the Department of Agriculture in helping the country attain rice self-sufficiency by leading strategic efforts in national rice science for development. PRRI has mandated its employees to look at Pilipinas Go4Health as their guide in living a healthy lifestyle. It also encouraged its employees to join the movement by becoming active members. According to the memorandum, cigarette smoking will be banned in the entire PhilRice Central Experiment Station starting this November.
DOH also tapped the private sector and urged employers to create a healthy environment for their employees. These include GT-Metro Foundation, UCPB Gen, Philip Electronics, and Global Culinary and Hospitality Academy.
GT-Metro is a family foundation of Metrobank founder and group chair George Ty, which invests in strategic programs that can uplift the lives of the poor and marginalized. UCPB Gen is the preferred insurance provider of prominent multinationals and leaders in different industries.
Meanwhile, Philips Electronics is a highly-respected name in world-class lighting, health, and well-being while Global Culinary and Hospitality Academy is a culinary school that believes professional culinary dreams come true when dedicated students partner with a committed school.
“The DOH hopes to recreate the environment that will provide Filipinos readily available peer-assessed information shared by a team of devoted health advocates. By providing critical resources, DOH and other partners from government, private sector, civil society and international organizations will be able to carry out this noble mission of addressing bad influences to better health,” said DOH Assistant Secretary Enrique Tayag.