President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the nationwide Healthy Ukraine program aimed at all age categories and groups of the population, the purpose of which is to increase the life expectancy of Ukrainians. The presentation took place in the framework of the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Healthy Ukraine".
The Head of State stressed that the issue of health has been important at all times, and in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became especially important. According to him, we need to draw the right conclusions from this crisis and come out stronger. In particular, without waiting for a new virus, we should already take care of our own health, develop a medical system to have a healthy nation.
"A healthy and active way of living should be in trend, should become if not a national idea, then at least an integral part of our mentality and lifestyle of our entire society," said the President.
"We have been doing large-scale work for months and today we are presenting the first results. We are starting a nationwide program of the President - "Healthy Ukraine". It was developed by many experts, the Office of the President of Ukraine together with three ministries: health, youth and sports, education and science, as well as with the participation of many experts from various fields," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to the Head of State, the program is aimed at all age categories and groups of the population, has different forms and directions, which provide for the achievement of the main goal - Ukrainians should live longer. After all, the average life expectancy in Ukraine today is 72 years. According to this indicator, our country ranks 115th in the world. The population of Ukraine is declining every year.
"To understand this threat, it is enough to count our probable population in 10, 20 or 50 years, if we do not change the situation dramatically. We must do everything for more Ukrainians to be born, and for fewer Ukrainians to die," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
The President noted that health should begin in childhood, so the first component of the program is a model of a healthy school.
"These are eight components to strengthen the health and immunity of pupils from all schools throughout our country. In particular, this is a new concept of physical education lessons - interesting, and therefore - popular among children. This is the school nutrition reform that my wife Olena is currently implementing. This is a new, useful and tasty school menu, developed by famous Ukrainian chef Yevhen Klopotenko,” the Head of State said.
It is also about the promotion of sports sections and clubs, new online applications that children and parents can use during sports.
«Це та ще багато іншого, починаючи з раннього віку, має зробити здоровий та активний стиль звичкою на все подальше життя дорослої людини», – переконаний Володимир Зеленський.
"This and much more, from an early age, should make a healthy and active style a habit for the rest of an adult's life," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Other components of the President's Healthy Ukraine program concern those who have graduated from school long ago. These components aim to reduce the number of premature deaths in Ukraine, 85% of which, according to statistics, are not caused by infectious diseases, but by diseases of the circulatory system and cancer that have not been diagnosed in time.
"For people over the age of 55, so-called medical check-ups will be introduced - full examinations every two years. And for some categories - every year. Early diagnosis of diseases allows the state to save the lives of its citizens, spending much less money, but most importantly - having a much better chance," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Also, according to the President, disease prevention is important, as the cause of more than 60% of premature deaths in Ukraine is, in particular, heart attacks and strokes, which are caused by various factors, including lack of physical activity, smoking, alcohol and poor nutrition.
"The lifestyle of a third of adult Ukrainians includes several such risk factors at a time. And, unfortunately, about 75% of Ukrainians do not engage in regular - any - physical activity. This happens for various reasons, including the lack of available sports infrastructure: convenient, modern, free and - more importantly - near the house," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Therefore, as the Head of State said, the third component of the program provides for the creation of "active parks" and sports grounds. They should appear in all corners of Ukraine and become locations of a healthy country, the goal of which is "sport for all", interesting and accessible for millions of Ukrainians.
"This is an opportunity without expensive fitness equipment, without a personal coach, when it is convenient for you to do sports together with our Olympic champions, stars of Ukrainian sports, stars of our television, cinema and music," the President said.
In particular, on the sports grounds of the cities there will be stands-instructions "Train here", where with the help of a smartphone you can read the QR-code, choose the level of difficulty and perform a set of exercises according to the recommendations of the virtual coach.
"Any age, any physique - you just have to go out in the morning, go to the park and do a little exercise," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The President has set a goal for thousands of "active parks" and sports grounds to appear in both large cities and small villages in the near future.
873 playgrounds for sports and workout have been prepared within the program and soon they will be opened in the parks of Ukrainian cities.