GENEVA: The possibilities of living an active and healthy life have been decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, World Health Organisation (WHO) stated recently.
In WHO's new advocacy brief Fair Play, decision-makers across the health, education, sport, and transport sectors were called to scale up to more comprehensive programmes and services urgently in safer environments that promote physical activities among communities.
Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General, WHO, said that there was an urgent need for better opportunities for people to live an active, healthy life. Today, the possibility of participating in physical activity is uneven and unfair, and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this inequity.
As per the statement, the WHO has now joined hands with its partners worldwide to tackle the key barriers restricting people from becoming more active and healthier.
A year, up to 5 million deaths could be controlled if the population across the globe had been more active. However, most people do not have enough access to spaces to engage in physical activities safely.
According to the WHO statistics, 1 in 4 adults and 4 out of 5 adolescents is not getting enough physical activity. Women have been less active than men, with an over 8 per cent difference at the global level. High-income countries have been more inactive as compared to middle-income and low-income countries.
