The African Physical Activity Declaration

Adopted on 23th September, 2016
07/04/2017 18:20

On 23th September, 2016 the General Assembly of the African Physical Activity Network adopted a declaration entitled The African Physical Activity Declaration.

 

This Declaration recognises the period from April to May as Physical Activity Months, in line with other global celebrations of and mobilizations for physical activity and encourages all African Nations to create awareness and encourage participation in physical activity, in the interest of health and development in all its fullness.

 

This particular Declaration urges all African Nations to:

  1. develop national physical activity plans,
  2. regularly undertake population surveillance of physical activity,
  3. assess and review implementation of physical education in schools,
  4. integrate culturally-relevant physical activity including dance, sport, recreation & leisure, and healthy lifestyle awareness into curricula, and other community-based initiatives, and
  5. mobilise a cadre of appropriately-trained physical activity and health practitioners, to campaign for and implement population-based, physical activity programs, as a key to healthy lifestyles and sustainable development.

The signatories of the Declaration are convinced that, by ensuring and supporting participation in physical activity, sports and active recreation, they may have both a direct and indirect effect on a number of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG 2030), including: health (SDG3), education (SDG4), gender equity (SDG5), healthy cities (SDG11) and climate change (SDG13).

 

Signatories are further convinced that, individual African nations can promote policies that support the enhancement of health through physical activity and sport, by developing national physical activity plans, recognized training for and implementation of programs and interventions, ranging from primary health care, to sport coaching, exercise science, physical education and related disciplines and settings; and that sound investment strategies and commitment by member nations to these actions and measures will result in a healthier African continent.

 

This Declaration and commitment of signatories contributes to the global and regional repository of significant policy documents and declarations aimed at promoting physical activity in its totality as vehicle for social development.