Spouse of the President Sanja Musić Milanović Presents Croatian Health Promotion Programme “Healthy Living“ to Medical Students in Podgorica
Accompanying the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović on his official visit to Montenegro was the spouse of the President, Prof. Sanja Musić Milanović, PhD. During their official stay in Montenegro, Prof. Sanja Musić Milanović, delivered a lecture to the students of the Faculty of Medicine in Podgorica and presented the National Health Promotion Programme “Healthy Living”, of which she is the leader.
The Croatian “Healthy Living” Programme was presented as an example of a comprehensive, multi-sectoral health promotion programme that is aimed at the general population and all age groups. Prof. Sanja Musić Milanović spoke about the numerous activities that are carried out at the national level as part of this programme, which include informing, educating and raising awareness on the positive aspects of a healthy lifestyle, as well as creating accessible and supportive environments.
As an example of good practice in multi-sectoral or multi-departmental cooperation, she cited the Polygons for the Physical Activity of School-Aged Children, which is one of the activities implemented as part of the National “Healthy Living” Programme and is designed to assist in the implementation of Physical Education and Health Education classes in primary schools in the Republic of Croatia that do not have the necessary material, technical and spatial conditions, with the aim of maintaining, improving and promoting health and physical activity. She added that the “Healthy Living” Programme received grants from the European Social Fund, with which the Polygons for the Physical Activity of School-Aged Children were delivered to 1,000 branch schools without gyms in the Republic of Croatia in 2021.
She further mentioned the fact that the importance and innovation of the Polygons for the Physical Activity of School-Aged Children was recognized by the European Commission which awarded the Polygons as one of the 16 best models of good practice from the health, education and sports sectors related to the implementation of Goal 3 Good Health and Well-Being – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for people of all generations, which is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.
In her lecture, Prof. Musić Milanović also introduced the topic of childhood obesity prevention to the students, and pointed out the need for innovative and new initiatives and solutions in the asrea of obesity prevention and treatment from an early age. Emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in dealing with this global problem, she highlighted the Zagreb Declaration, which is the cornerstone of action in this area and was adopted during the Summit of Spouses of European Leaders held in May 2023 in Zagreb on the topic of childhood obesity prevention in Europe, and organized by the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia and the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe.
She explained that the initiative was launched as a basis for future joint action in the area of childhood obesity prevention by creating a network within the European Region of the World Health Organization. The outcome of the Summit was the adoption of the Zagreb Declaration, in which numerous high-level participants committed to individual and joint efforts to achieve the same goal, i.e. the prevention of childhood obesity. In conclusion, she said that obesity is a global public health challenge and that it is therefore necessary to act jointly and comprehensively at a multi-sectoral level in order to find innovative solutions.
PHOTO: Radonja Srdanović