Bupa Healthy Cities Challenge Records More Than 17 Million Steps in Kenya
A month of walking has brought together health, community and environmental action, with participants in Kenya clocking more than 17 million steps through the Bupa Global Healthy Cities Challenge.
The inaugural Kenya edition of the challenge recorded a total of 17,012,696 steps from Bupa employees, customers, brokers and partners.
The month-long initiative wrapped up with a community walk at Karura Forest, where 130 participants came together to celebrate healthier lifestyles and the power of collective action.
Beyond counting steps, the challenge was designed to encourage people to become more physically active while generating charitable funding through the Bupa Foundation.
Healthy Cities is part of Bupa’s global movement focused on creating healthier and more climate-resilient cities. The initiative recognizes that rising temperatures, air pollution and limited access to green spaces can increasingly affect people’s wellbeing, particularly in urban areas.
More Than Just a Walk
For Bupa, the Kenya challenge builds on several community-focused initiatives aimed at improving health and wellbeing.
In recent years, the organization has supp orted medical outreach programmes through its partnership with Lifecare and worked with Griot Impact on community borehole projects aimed at improving access to clean water.
Bupa is also exploring further opportunities to support environmental conservation and healthier communities, including a potential collaboration with Friends of Karura Forest.
The focus reflects a growing understanding that health is influenced by more than access to healthcare. The environment people live in, the spaces available for physical activity and access to basic resources can all contribute to healthier communities.
Every Step Counts
Uditha Jayaratne, CEO & Principal Officer, Kenya and Managing Director, Africa, said the initiative demonstrated how personal wellbeing and environmental responsibility can work together.
“In a changing climate, supporting people’s health and protecting our environment goes hand in hand,” he said.
According to Jayaratne, every step recorded during the challenge contributed towards funding for greener and healthier communities while encouraging participants to adopt healthier lifestyles.
He also described the initiative as an expression of Bupa’s wider purpose of helping people live longer, healthier and happier lives while contributing to a better world.
A Global Movement
The Kenya challenge forms part of a wider Bupa Healthy Cities movement that has expanded internationally since 2023.
Globally, the initiative has helped unlock more than KSh 1.4 billion for projects focused on bringing nature back into urban environments and has reached more than one million people across over 50 cities in 24 countries.
The Kenya edition adds another chapter to that journey, bringing together people from across Bupa’s network around a simple idea: healthier people and healthier cities can be built through everyday choices and collective action.
With more than 17 million steps recorded in just one month, the challenge has shown that even a simple walk can become part of something much bigger.
