Ministry of Health partners Be More Race

Ministry of Health (MoH) has partnered Standard Bank’s Be More Race scheduled for June 9 2018 in Lilongwe.

Announcing the partnership, MoH head of non-communicable diseases and mental health Dr. Kaponda Masiye said the 21.2 kilometres race addresses one of the causes of non-communicable diseases which is lack of physical exercises.

He said: “We encourage people to do physical exercises so we have partnered Be More Race because we know that this is addressing one of the four modifiable risk factors that are responsible for non-communicable diseases.

“That’s why we say let’s be together with Standard Bank so that people should develop the habit of doing physical exercise.”

Masiye said the ministry is coming into the race to create awareness on the importance of physical fitness in prevention of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension

“The role we are playing is just awareness because we know that as a ministry our job is to make people know what is supposed to be done.

“We are telling people that when you exercise like this kind of races you are reducing the risk factors of non-communicable diseases.

“As a result, government will not waste resources in managing these diseases because we would have prevented them with these exercises,” he said.

Standard Bank head of marketing and communications Thoko Unyolo welcomed the partnership, saying it complements the race’s objective of promoting health and wellness.

Standard Bank has staked K2.9 million for Be More Race with the winner carting home K1.5 million.

The runner-up will get K900 000 while the third will get K550 000.