The Health Ministry Medical Services recently held a Healthy Cooking competition at the BMICH for Medical Administrators of the Uva Province attached to the College Medical Administrators in a bid to enable a culture of health conscious culinary habits to penetrate into the wider social spectrum within Sri Lanka.
Facilitated by Litro Gas Lanka Ltd., the event featured 10 enthusiastic teams representing numerous departments of the Medical Services of the Ministry of Health competing for the top three spots. Event patrons, Chefs Guild of Lanka provided guidance to competitors and selected the three winning teams accordingly. With a solid background in sponsoring ground breaking campaigns, event facilitators, Litro Gas stepped out to back this campaign in a bid to bring the neglected art of household culinary adventures, particularly, healthy cooking into the limelight.
“Our ultimate goal is to advocate a behavioural change in the Sri Lankan social fabric. It is imperative that Sri Lankans adopt not only healthy diets but also healthier ways of preparing food items. We are equally concerned about the illnesses arising due to unhealthy way of cooking, especially, in women, as the numbers affected are alarmingly high. We hope this initiative would give the right momentum in that direction, with the wider society eventually finding inspiration through their health administrators’ journeys,” commented Dr. Lakshmi Somathunga, Deputy Director General, Medical Services, Ministry of Health.
The Healthy Cooking competition aspired to reach out to more than 70 high profile medical officials attached to the Medical Services of the Health Ministry, representing more than 47 Hospitals islandwide, as well as the Ministry of Health and The College of Medical Administrators.
“It was inspiring to see the vitality and passion the competing teams generated during the event. I believe the same enthusiasm will slowly but surely translate into lifestyle changes which the general public will also adopt given the rise in awareness on the subject of healthy eating and cooking habits”, commented Chaminda Ediriwickrama, Director - Sales & Marketing/Corporate Affairs - Litro Gas Lanka Ltd.
“Food is much more than just something that tastes good and fills up your stomach. What you eat can heal, cause sickness, or even inflict pain. Cooking your own meals can teach you what foods are high or low in certain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It will even boost your creativity as you learn to combine nutritious foods to satisfy your palate,” added Nilmini Ferdinando, Marketing Communication Manager, Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. The participants comprised teams from a plethora of health units in the Uva Province, including, Hospitals in the Province, Uva Provincial Health Department, Past Presidents of the College of Medical Administrators, Council Members, Respiratory Physicians, Regional Directors of Hospital Services, Young Administrators and Divisional Council members.