Novartis ‘Making Health a Lifestyle’ program wins DOH advocacy award

Photo shows (from left) Dr. Danilo Baldemor, Philippine Association of Diabetes Educators president and OHLAA Search and Awards Committee chair; Ms. Sherry Ann Harris, Communications Associate, Novartis Healthcare Philippines; DOH Secretary Dr. Enrique T. Ona; Ms. Christine F. Liwanag, Corporate Affairs & Market Access Director, Novartis Healthcare Philippines; and Dr. Soe Nyunt-U, World Health Organization Representative to the Philippines.

Manila, April 26, 2012 – The “Making Health a Lifestyle” program of Novartis Healthcare Philippines is the winner of the 2nd Department of Health (DOH) “Outstanding Healthy Lifestyle Advocacy Award” (OHLAA) for the Commercial Establishment category.

World Health Organization Representative to the Philippines Dr. Soe Nyunt-U, DOH Secretary Enrique Ona, and Dr. Danilo Baldemor, Philippine Association of Diabetes Educators president and OHLAA Search and Awards Committee chair, presented Novartis with a plaque and a Php100,000 grant during the awarding ceremony.

“We thank the DOH and its partners for recognizing our company’s contribution in promoting a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos. Novartis will continue to work with government and other stakeholders in implementing innovative and effective public health awareness initiatives,” said Thomas Weigold, Country President & Managing Director, Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

The OHLAA encourages health advocates to be sensitive to the important contribution of improving the lifestyle of people as a vital factor in achieving positive health outcomes in the country. Given biennially by the DOH in collaboration with the Philippine Coalition for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, the OHLAA recognizes the work of organizations and institutions that develop and effectively implement excellent healthy lifestyle policies and programs. These include the promotion of regular physical activity and healthy diet and control of alcohol and tobacco use.

The Novartis “Making Health a Lifestyle” program consists of the internal “Be Healthy Initiative” and the external Kaagapay-World Hypertension Day annual campaigns.

The “Be Healthy Initiative” is a group-wide initiative that helps Novartis employees worldwide adopt and stick to a healthy lifestyle. It is anchored on four pillars of healthy living: regular exercise, healthy diet, accurate up-to-date health information, and maintaining health at work.

Since 2008, Novartis Healthcare Philippines in partnership with the DOH, medical societies and media has been supporting the country’s observance of World Hypertension Day (WHD). Through the annual WHD celebrations, Novartis and its partners implement innovative and fun healthy lifestyle initiatives to increase public awareness on hypertension, particularly in preventing, diagnosing early, and controlling this “silent killer”.

Novartis Healthcare Philippines will donate the Php100,000 grant back to the DOH and use the grant to implement a joint DOH-Novartis public health advocacy program this year.

About Novartis
Novartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies.  Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines, diagnostic tools, over-the-counter and animal health products. Novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas.  In  2010, the Group’s continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 50.6 billion, while approximately USD 9.1 billion (USD8.1 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges) was invested in R&D throughout the Group. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 121,000 full-time- equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.