The percentage of people regularly engaging in physical culture and sports is growing in Belarus. This information is provided in a statistical review by Belstat, timed to coincide with World Health Day (April 7), according to BELTA.
Modern medicine places increasing emphasis on comprehensive prevention. In Belarus, mass vaccination allows for a reduction in morbidity rates annually. In 2018, compared to 2017, the incidence of influenza decreased by 33.7%, viral hepatitis by 15.6%, and tick-borne encephalitis by 6.7%. A single case of epidemic parotitis was registered. No cases of diphtheria, tetanus, or rubella were detected. Prevention of non-communicable diseases, through the promotion of an active lifestyle and engagement in physical culture and sports, has a particularly positive impact.
The proportion of the population aged 16 and over engaged in physical culture and sports increased from 25.7% at the beginning of 2015 to 26.5% at the beginning of 2019. Moreover, the percentage of women who pay significant attention to such activities is higher than the percentage of men. Among urban residents at the beginning of 2019, 30.2% of the population engaged in physical culture and sports, while among rural residents, this figure was 16.7%.
"A sample household survey on living standards showed that at the beginning of this year, 27.5% of Belarusians aged 16 and over assessed their health status as good, and 64% as satisfactory," the statistical report states.
Ensuring a healthy lifestyle and promoting well-being for all at all ages is an important component of the Sustainable Development Agenda and one of the priority areas for Belarus's sustainable development. Individual data from the national list of Sustainable Development Goals indicators are now available. For example, the under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) decreased from 3.7 in 2015 to 3.4 in 2018. The neonatal mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) also decreased during the specified period, from 1.4 to 1.1. The availability of medical services is ensured not only by an extensive network of institutions but also by an increase in the number of medical personnel.