“Eat, move”. Civil servants in Uganda will have to comply with this widespread slogan. Concerned about the particularly high rate of diabetes in its population, the government of the East African country invited all ministries, administrations and public services to establish weekly sports sessions for their staff. The objective, “to alleviate the growing burden of lifestyle-related diseases”, explains the executive in its press release published on March 26, quoted by Courrier international.
Because Uganda is one of 48 countries classified as “concerning” by the International Diabetes Federation. More than 4% of the Ugandan population is affected, with an exceptionally low average age of 35 years. This phenomenon is costly to the State. At the end of 2023, the Center for Economic Policy Research, a local think tank, estimated the State’s share in the care of patients with diabetes at 435.8 billion shillings (104 million euros), and urgently recommended prevention initiatives.
The Director General of the Civil Service in the government, Lucy Nakyobe Mbonye, asked, in a letter addressed to all government agencies, to allow 2 hours per week for physical activity in employees’ schedules. . Recipients of the letter, dated March 13, are urged to “give this issue the attention it deserves, as it will help save the lives of your staff and reduce disease morbidity.”
This initiative is not the first in this area. Already in 2018, the government established a national day dedicated to physical activity, following a study conducted by the Ministry of Health, which revealed that one in four Ugandans had hypertension.