Sport and Health Capacity Development Initiative – Consultation Workshop

From 25th to 27th of February 2025, the second consultation and co-creation workshop for the global Sport and Health Capacity Development Initiative was hosted at KCA University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Framed by the International Olympic Committee’s Olympism365 Strategy and World Health Organisation’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018–2030 (GAPPA), this initiative is being conducted under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between both institutions with the objective to strengthen the role of community sport and physical activity in building healthier, more active communities.

With the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) serving as delivery leads, this initiative aims to develop, design and pilot two professional development courses focused on leveraging community sport and physical activity to promote health and wellbeing, as well as to promote sport and health professionals to strengthen collaborative approaches among the two sectors.

A total of 25 organisations represented by 39 participants took part in a two-and-a-half-day workshop that sought expert feedback from professionals from sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Tanzania, across the sport and health sectors.

Participants of the workshop shared their perspectives on the potential impact of this initiative. Their testimonials highlight the importance of integrating sport and health to create lasting change.

Henry Tandau from the Tanzania Olympic Committee emphasized the initiative’s role in shifting mindsets toward physical activity. He stated, “The initiative encourages a positive shift in mindset toward physical activity, emphasizing its benefits not only for individual fitness but also for community physical, mental and social health and well-being, and even national productivity. By reducing the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, it contributes to a healthier, more productive society. National Olympic Committees can play a crucial role in promoting this message and disseminating this course through their events and programs, ensuring wider participation and long-term impact across different levels of society”.

Lindelwa Dlamini from the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) underscored the need for widespread advocacy and education on physical activity across the continent. He noted, “This course will definitely raise awareness and educate sport and health professionals across Africa on the importance of physical activity, especially as statistics show a worrying decline in participation. By advocating through African Union Sport Council our networks, we hope to inform communities in our member States about the dangers of non-communicable diseases and how they can be prevented. Ours is to try and spread the message as far and as wide as possible through our networks and hopefully we’ll be able to then monitor and see if people are actually partaking or undergoing what is said in the course.”