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Working together for a healthier city
In August, the Healthy Christchurch
initiative held a series of workshops to
identify the practical projects which
Healthy Christchurch intends to work on.
Over 120 people attended and the
diversity of expertise and interests was
impressive. Proposals included: Healthy Christchurch is a collaborative
initiative built around a Charter, which has
been signed by 180 agencies, ranging from
government departments and businesses
to small community organisations and
sports clubs. The Charter commits its
signatories to working together to
develop initiatives which will enhance
health and well-being in the city. The
initiative was originally sponsored by the
Canterbury District Health Board, Crown
Public Health, Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu,
The Ministry of Health, He Oranga
Pounamu, The Christchurch School of
Medicine, Pegasus Health and the
Christchurch City Council. Each project proposal is now being
developed to ensure that it is clear in its
aims, is well evaluated and is not
duplicating work being done elsewhere. “Having such a large and diverse groups
of agencies signing the Charter shows that
there is a plenty of energy and goodwill
for people to work together”, says Lucy
D'Aeth, co-ordinator of Healthy
Christchurch. “The projects are very diverse, which
reflects the wide range of issues which
impact on people’s health. It is great that
workers are keen to share their
expertise and resources to work
together to improve well-being in
Christchurch.” |