Health Ministry launches active ageing walk initiative at Harmony Beach Park

The Ministry of Health has started a park walking initiative to encourage older Jamaicans to stay physically active, with hundreds of seniors turning out Thursday at Harmony Beach Park for the launch.

The programme forms part of wider efforts to promote healthier choices as Jamaica faces a growing elderly population while the national birth rate declines. Health officials are also contending with the continued burden of non-communicable diseases, which remain the leading cause of death, especially among older people.

At the launch, the initiative was presented as a way to give seniors safe public spaces where regular movement can become part of daily life. The message to participants was that wellness depends not only on treatment and medical services, but also on exercise and access to spaces that support active living.

Labour Minister Pearnel Charles Jr., who addressed the seniors, said ageing well must mean more than adding years to life. He urged older adults to make exercise a steady habit and to help spread the message through churches, communities and neighbourhoods.

Charles said those who attended were already examples for their peers because they had come prepared to walk and take part. He encouraged them to invite other seniors, including those who may feel left out, to use the programme as a way to reconnect.

The minister also pointed to isolation among older people as an issue the Government wants to tackle. He said the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, through the National Council for Senior Citizens and in partnership with HEART, has digital literacy programmes that help seniors use devices, go online, guard against scammers and find their way around the internet.

One 75-year-old participant said she closed her business for the day to attend the event because she believed the initiative was well suited to seniors. She suggested that similar activities be held monthly or every two months.