Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Tuesday launched the National Health Week aimed at promoting healthy living among citizens.

Lungu, who launched the program at an ultra-modern sports center, the Olympic Youth Development Center (OYDC) in Lusaka, the country's capital said there was need for a change in lifestyles among citizens if the country was to have a healthy and productive population.

The government, he said, was determined to continue investing in infrastructure to support various sporting activities and promoting health living among its citizens.

The National Health Week, launched with the theme: "Promoting Wellness for All," was aimed at addressing various matter matters among them the promotion of proper weight and diet, controlling the abuse of alcohol and breaking smoking habits, he added.

The Zambian leader has since urged citizens to entrench a culture of accessing periodic medical checkups by visiting various health facilities and ensure that there was a clean and green environment.

Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya said there was need for a multi-sectoral approach in addressing health challenges facing the country, adding that the Health Week was organized in a bid to address the various issues affecting citizens.

He further bemoaned the ever-increasing burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases some which could be avoided by adopting healthy lifestyles.

During the Health Week, there will also be screening of various conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and others. The program will then be implemented in various provinces of the country.

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2017)