01 Jul 2015

Minister of Health, Ms Dorcas Makgato, says people must adopt a healthy lifestyle to avoid diseases.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting in Tonota recently, Ms Makgato said her ministry was working on addressing issues of health including educating the public on ways of avoiding diseases because ‘prevention is better than cure’.

She said she believed that each and every individual was responsible for their own health and that they should not put the entire burden on the government.

She told the residents that she was empowering them to start improving their ways of living in order to lead better lives. Ms Makgato urged them to do physical exercises in order to burn calories in their bodies which often led to diseases such as hypertension and heart failure.

She pleaded with them to be cautious of the food that they ate advising that they should avoid eating a lot of meat but rather substitute it with vegetables.

She said times and lifestyles had also changed because in the past, people had to work hard before they could get anything.

“In the past, people had to walk to the river before they could drink water; they had to walk to fetch firewood before they could cook; and this allowed them to exercise,” she noted.

On the other hand, the minister said nowadays people could access most of their daily needs without much physical activity something that leads to diseases.

She explained that her major priority was to ensure that people had access to health services, adding that the shortage of doctors and nurses was a national concern.

Furthermore, she said she was aware that the residents of Tonota had long requested for a primary hospital and that their wish would only be possible once funding was available.

She advised that Tonota was not the only village waiting for the long promised hospital because the problem was widespread. Tonota Central councilor Mr Chris Machokoto applauded the minister for having visited the village as per the President’s promise in a recent meeting, adding that her message on healthy lifestyles and disease prevention was all important.

However, he pleaded with the minister to assist the community in improving the existing clinic because the facility needed urgent attention so the residents did not spend a lot of money travelling to Francistown for better medical services. Ends