Tackling noncommunicable diseases in Africa through football: The case of Malawi
Abstract There is evidence that physical inactivity and dietary factors are more common among modifiable risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) which are on the rise in Malawi. Football has been shown to have a wide range of health‐related benefits in health education programs, including t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Public Health Challenges |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.64 |
| _version_ | 1797853385038233600 |
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| author | Allan Kangwerema Mictum Miggo Gracian Harawa Isabel Kazanga‐Chiumia Usman Abubakar Haruna Jackson Safari Prosper Lutala John Thumbiko Kaunda |
| author_facet | Allan Kangwerema Mictum Miggo Gracian Harawa Isabel Kazanga‐Chiumia Usman Abubakar Haruna Jackson Safari Prosper Lutala John Thumbiko Kaunda |
| author_sort | Allan Kangwerema |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract There is evidence that physical inactivity and dietary factors are more common among modifiable risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) which are on the rise in Malawi. Football has been shown to have a wide range of health‐related benefits in health education programs, including the promotion of physical activity as a potential intervention in addressing NCDs. In Malawi, few football‐based health promotion programs have been implemented to address NCDs. Among the programs implemented were the Federation Internationale de Football Association 11 for Health initiative which was a school‐based health education program for the youth and the Malawi Ministry of Health's SPORTS FOR HEALTH initiative targeting civil servants. These programs produced significant improvement in physical activity in the participants and also increased their knowledge of both communicable and NCDs. However, these initiatives were not rolled out to many sites across Malawi. As Malawi is tackling rising cases of NCDs, football can be used as a powerful tool in promoting physical activity and it also provides an important platform for the delivery of NCDs’ health promotion messages to a wider audience. Such football‐based initiatives must be designed to directly address modifiable risk factors of NCDs. For successful implementation, there must be a good collaboration among the Ministries of Health and Sports, local football leagues, and other stakeholders. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:48:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d2425d8d81a43ad813b1e357ea2a4b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2769-2450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:48:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Public Health Challenges |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d2425d8d81a43ad813b1e357ea2a4b92023-04-03T10:35:20ZengWileyPublic Health Challenges2769-24502023-03-0121n/an/a10.1002/puh2.64Tackling noncommunicable diseases in Africa through football: The case of MalawiAllan Kangwerema0Mictum Miggo1Gracian Harawa2Isabel Kazanga‐Chiumia3Usman Abubakar Haruna4Jackson Safari5Prosper Lutala6John Thumbiko Kaunda7Clinical Department Nkhatabay District Hospital Nkhata Bay MalawiClinical Department Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Blantyre MalawiClinical Department Mzuzu Central Hospital Mzuzu MalawiSchool of Global and Public Health, Department of Health Systems and Policy Kamuzu University of Health Sciences Blantyre MalawiDepartment of Medicine Nazarbayev University School of Medicine Astana KazakhstanIndependent Monitoring and Evaluation Nairobi KenyaDepartment of Family Medicine Kamuzu University of Health Sciences Blantyre MalawiGraduate School of Health Sciences University of the Ryukyus Nishihara JapanAbstract There is evidence that physical inactivity and dietary factors are more common among modifiable risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) which are on the rise in Malawi. Football has been shown to have a wide range of health‐related benefits in health education programs, including the promotion of physical activity as a potential intervention in addressing NCDs. In Malawi, few football‐based health promotion programs have been implemented to address NCDs. Among the programs implemented were the Federation Internationale de Football Association 11 for Health initiative which was a school‐based health education program for the youth and the Malawi Ministry of Health's SPORTS FOR HEALTH initiative targeting civil servants. These programs produced significant improvement in physical activity in the participants and also increased their knowledge of both communicable and NCDs. However, these initiatives were not rolled out to many sites across Malawi. As Malawi is tackling rising cases of NCDs, football can be used as a powerful tool in promoting physical activity and it also provides an important platform for the delivery of NCDs’ health promotion messages to a wider audience. Such football‐based initiatives must be designed to directly address modifiable risk factors of NCDs. For successful implementation, there must be a good collaboration among the Ministries of Health and Sports, local football leagues, and other stakeholders.https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.64Africafootballhealth promotionMalawinoncommunicable diseasessports |
| spellingShingle | Allan Kangwerema Mictum Miggo Gracian Harawa Isabel Kazanga‐Chiumia Usman Abubakar Haruna Jackson Safari Prosper Lutala John Thumbiko Kaunda Tackling noncommunicable diseases in Africa through football: The case of Malawi Public Health Challenges Africa football health promotion Malawi noncommunicable diseases sports |
| title | Tackling noncommunicable diseases in Africa through football: The case of Malawi |
| title_full | Tackling noncommunicable diseases in Africa through football: The case of Malawi |
| title_fullStr | Tackling noncommunicable diseases in Africa through football: The case of Malawi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tackling noncommunicable diseases in Africa through football: The case of Malawi |
| title_short | Tackling noncommunicable diseases in Africa through football: The case of Malawi |
| title_sort | tackling noncommunicable diseases in africa through football the case of malawi |
| topic | Africa football health promotion Malawi noncommunicable diseases sports |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.64 |
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