It is a disturbing fact that approximately 61% of the North West population is classified as impoverished. This shocking figure is the biggest contributing factor to the inadequate wellness of communities in this province, and according to the government it is an important social, economic and political developmental challenge.
The government needs active assistance, and this compelled the North-West University (NWU) to become involved in yet another initiative.
The health departments of North West and the Western Cape recently joined the NWU in launching an initiative for the improvement of communities’ wellness. The WOW! (Western Cape on Wellness) initiative was established five years ago already and up to now has achieved great successes to empower community members to make better lifestyle decisions and display better habits.
The NWU’s Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research (AUTHeR) approached North West’s health department, and after successful negotiations this initiative will now be contextualised to be rolled out as the NOW! (North West on Wellness) initiative. The NOW! initiative empowers community members to make better lifestyle decisions and thus to take responsibility for their own health.
AUTHeR performs multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in order to provide realistic solutions for real challenges around health and wellness. Their research has made a real impact on society, with a focus on three areas, namely:
- Health promotion and the activation of wellness
- Sustainable diets as an essential part of wellness
- Sustainable community development
According to Prof Petra Bester, director of AUTHeR, the provincial government is not supposed to take the sole responsibility for the various social and health responsibilities. “We realise that we also have to roll up our sleeves and offer the necessary aid and expertise where there is a need. Everything that we at AUTHeR take on is directly aligned with the National Development Plan for 2030.
“We approach our role from a holistic perspective for the promotion of the physical, psychosocial and mental wellness of our communities. After exciting discussions the health department identified ten individuals in North West to be trained to accept the responsibility for rolling out the NOW! initiative. This will now be implemented in North West with the main purpose of creating healthier communities, while the initiative will strengthen existing healthcare systems,” she says.
These “wellness champions”, as they will be called in the communities, recently received in-depth training from Prof Frederick Marais of WOW! to create various wellness activities in the communities. These individuals consist of:
- six healthcare workers
- one youth-centre coordinator
- two ‘Love Life’ representatives (HIV-prevention initiative)
- one representative of the Office of the Premier
According to Prof Bester the fact that North West’s healthcare systems are overburdened while many health activities can be handled at home is one of the major problems leading to poor wellness there.
“Access and poor infrastructure are major challenges, but when these ‘wellness champions’ start to train communities to maintain healthier lifestyles in a sustainable manner, the pressure on the healthcare systems will automatically be alleviated.”
The “champions”, who will work across the province, are each equipped with a set of items to present activities in the communities, give lifestyle counselling, and expose the individuals to better health habits. The set of items consists of, among other things, a blood-pressure gauge, exercise balls, a scale, exercise material, a metre wheel, a stop watch, a tape measure, cones, recipe books, hula hoops, skipping ropes and yoga mats.
“We will be communicating with the ‘wellness champions’ on a weekly basis to ensure the sustainability of the initiative. Another goal of this initiative is for the network to grow. We aim to continually identify more individuals and train them as ‘wellness champions’. As the networks grow, they also present the opportunity to do further research on this in the local communities,” says Prof Bester.
