Hume council has turned to social media to bolster support for its campaign to reinstate funding for preventative health programs.
The council is spruiking the hashtag #anappleaday and #fundprevention in an effort to attract the state government’s attention to its fight to have funding for obesity and disease prevention measures reinstated beyond June 30.
Hume is one of 12 councils in Victoria at risk of losing programs run by Healthy Together Victoria.
Federal funding for the National Partnership Agreement on Preventative Health was cut in the 2014 budget. This agreement had provided funding for Healthy Together Victoria.
The state government agreed to continue its share of the funding until June 30, but there has been nothing but silence from it about whether funds will continue beyond that date.
Instead of answering Star Weekly’s questions about whether the funding would be reinstated, Health Minister Jill Hennessy instead stressed the severity of the federal government’s $90 million cuts to health care in Victoria until 2018.
Hume council wants community members to take photos of themselves eating apples and then post them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the #anappleaday and #fundprevention hashtags to show their support for the campaign.
