Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Pratikno stated here on Sunday that Indonesia aims to solidify collaboration with its neighboring nations, including in terms of improving the health of the people in the region.
"Car Free Day is not merely about limiting access to vehicles, but we give it a positive point of view, which is allowing a path for people to do physical activities, social activities," he remarked.
ASEAN has gone through many challenges, such as COVID-19, which serves as a crucial experience that teaches the importance of collaboration in addressing issues, he said.
The government has prepared some facilities for the event, such as free physical and mental health checkups. Moreover, the tai chi community was also involved in the instance to compel people to do healthy, fun workouts.
"We must consistently maintain physical as well as mental health. Not only physical health, but mental happiness is also very important," Pratikno added.
On the same occasion, Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono stated that the event aims to educate people about a healthy lifestyle. It is also a showcase to ASEAN that Indonesia consistently encourages its people to live a healthy life, he added.
"They were interested. They just found out about Car Free Day, and they will disseminate the information to their institutions in ASEAN countries, so they come to Car Free Day every Sunday," Harbuwono noted.
According to Free Health Checkup (CKG), the three biggest health issues of Indonesians are hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol count. He stated that the three issues lead to vascular diseases and are the top causes of death in Indonesia.
By maintaining proper intake of nutrition and exercising for 40 minutes for 3-4 days a week, people can prevent and reduce their blood sugar, tension, and cholesterol, he stressed.
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Translator: Mecca Yumna Ning Prisie
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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