Healthy Living, Seniors and Consumer Affairs

Chronic diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, cancer, heart disease and stroke, kidney and lung disease are major causes of illness, disability and death in Manitoba.  Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death in Canada and six out of ten Canadians are living with at least one chronic disease.

There are three major risk factors that lead to chronic disease:

• smoking,
• physical inactivity, and
• unhealthy eating.

Prevention is our best option for fighting chronic disease.

Healthy Together Now

Healthy Together Now (HTN), formerly the Chronic Disease Prevention Initiative (CDPI), has evolved from a five-year demonstration project to an on-going initiative supporting communities across Manitoba in their chronic disease prevention efforts.  The Healthy Together Now initiative helps prevent chronic disease in Manitoba.  Healthy Together Now projects are community-led, regionally coordinated and government supported.

Healthy Together Now activities work to address the three major risk factors that lead to chronic disease: smoking, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating. Healthy Together Now supports Manitobans to live smoke-free, encourages healthy eating, promotes active living, and supports mental wellbeing.  Participating communities develop programs and activities to address the risk factors affecting their community. These activities can reach community members of all ages at home, at school, at work and in their community.    

Healthy Together Now projects are:

• Grassroots: Community members identify, initiate and lead projects.
• Evidence-informed: Evidence is used to plan and design each project and to measure its effectiveness.
• Integrated: Healthy Together Now aligns and blends with existing programs to add value and enhance their reach.
• Focused: Projects target priority populations as identified by communities and health regions.
• Sustainable: Strong partnerships and community ownership promote lasting effects.

The goals of Healthy Together Now are to:

• Support community-led prevention activities.
• Get organizations, communities, regions, and government working together to prevent chronic disease.
• Join with and build on existing prevention programs.
• Increase skills, knowledge and ability to carry out prevention programs to address different levels of health.

For more information:

To learn more about Healthy Together Now, Healthy Together Now tools and resources - including a collection of Manitoba stories, visit: http://healthy.healthincommon.ca/

or contact:

Healthy Together Now
Phone: (204) 788-6790