The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) has signed an agreement with Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) to assess and further improve the health of workers involved in the construction of World Cup projects.
A team of experts from WCM-Q will examine the workers’ health and diets, evaluate their nutritional intake, and identify prevalent health challenges as part of a training pilot programme.
The programme, which will initially target a random sample of 1,000 workers on SC projects, is composed of three stages: health checks and reporting, awareness and training campaign, and catering enhancement and reporting.
The first phase will include carrying out basic health checks of 1,000 workers to determine health-related issues, including hypertension, blood glucose, hydration status, body measurements, grip strength and respiratory parameters.
Under the second phase, WCM-Q will aim to educate 1,000 workers on the benefits of healthy lifestyles and balanced diet, and key stakeholders on the need to provide nutritious food options for workers. Access to dieticians and nutritionists will be provided.
The third phase will see WCM-Q working with contractors and catering suppliers to recommend nutritional food options for 1,000 workers via revised food options within their worksites and accommodation.
The initiative, launched with the Institute of Population Health at WCM-Q, will conclude with the release of a detailed report to SC, summarising the outcomes, impact and key findings of the programme, and make recommendations for future intervention.
“We are particularly pleased that the initiative places such strong emphasis on practical steps to monitor the health of workers and take action to improve nutrition and understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet,” said Dr Ravinder Mamtani, senior associate dean for population health, capacity building and student affairs at WCM-Q.
The team of experts from WCM-Q will be led by Dr Shahrad Taheri, professor of medicine and assistant dean for clinical investigations, and Dr Odette Chagoury, associate director of clinical research. Both have a wealth of experience assessing the effectiveness of health and nutrition interventions.
“The impact of this initiative, both on the short and long-term health of workers associated with SC construction projects, could be significant, particularly if, as we hope, the findings are taken on board by other companies and international businesses operating in Qatar,” Dr Taheri said.
This agreement is the latest addition to the SC’s workers’ welfare programme, which seeks to ensure the health, safety and dignity of everyone on SC construction projects in Qatar.
Workers’ welfare falls under the responsibility of SC’s dedicated Workers’ Welfare Division, tasked to ensure 2022 FIFA World Cup leaves a lasting social legacy for workers in Qatar.
“Weill Cornell is a household name in medicine and we are delighted to partner with them on such an important programme. Nutrition is a vital component of any healthy lifestyle and we’re hoping that through this new programme, we can uncover any prevalent or latent health concerns among our workers and address any issue that come to light,” SC secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi said.
“We will work with our entire supply chain to make sure we improve our workers’ health and enable our contractors to offer balanced and nutritious options for workers,” he noted.
“This initiative represents an exciting opportunity to tackle a global problem, that of nutritional deficiencies among migrant workers,” WCM-Q dean Dr Javaid I Sheikh said.
“Through this initiative, we not only hope to better understand the specific nutritional needs of workers in Qatar but also to educate them about diet so they can pass this knowledge on to their families when they return home,” he noted.
The launch of the programme follows a number of other significant steps the SC has taken in the last 12 months to improve the welfare of workers on SC construction projects.
These include signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Building and Wood Workers’ International for joint health and safety inspections at accommodations and sites, and the launch of an innovative cooling technologies programme, which involve the identification of cooling helmets, vests and towels for distribution to workers on SC sites.
The SC has eight construction sites across Qatar and just over 10,000 workers on-site at any given time.
The number of workers engaged on SC construction projects is expected to rise to 36,000 in the next 12 months as various projects approach completion or the main works stage.
The Khalifa International Stadium is expected to complete in the second quarter of this year and the Al Wakrah and Qatar Foundation stadiums are rapidly heading towards their completion dates in 2018.
The programme, which will initially target a random sample of 1,000 workers on SC projects, is composed of three stages: health checks and reporting, awareness and training campaign, and catering enhancement and reporting.
The first phase will include carrying out basic health checks of 1,000 workers to determine health-related issues, including hypertension, blood glucose, hydration status, body measurements, grip strength and respiratory parameters.
Under the second phase, WCM-Q will aim to educate 1,000 workers on the benefits of healthy lifestyles and balanced diet, and key stakeholders on the need to provide nutritious food options for workers. Access to dieticians and nutritionists will be provided.
The third phase will see WCM-Q working with contractors and catering suppliers to recommend nutritional food options for 1,000 workers via revised food options within their worksites and accommodation.
The initiative, launched with the Institute of Population Health at WCM-Q, will conclude with the release of a detailed report to SC, summarising the outcomes, impact and key findings of the programme, and make recommendations for future intervention.
“We are particularly pleased that the initiative places such strong emphasis on practical steps to monitor the health of workers and take action to improve nutrition and understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet,” said Dr Ravinder Mamtani, senior associate dean for population health, capacity building and student affairs at WCM-Q.
The team of experts from WCM-Q will be led by Dr Shahrad Taheri, professor of medicine and assistant dean for clinical investigations, and Dr Odette Chagoury, associate director of clinical research. Both have a wealth of experience assessing the effectiveness of health and nutrition interventions.
“The impact of this initiative, both on the short and long-term health of workers associated with SC construction projects, could be significant, particularly if, as we hope, the findings are taken on board by other companies and international businesses operating in Qatar,” Dr Taheri said.
This agreement is the latest addition to the SC’s workers’ welfare programme, which seeks to ensure the health, safety and dignity of everyone on SC construction projects in Qatar.
Workers’ welfare falls under the responsibility of SC’s dedicated Workers’ Welfare Division, tasked to ensure 2022 FIFA World Cup leaves a lasting social legacy for workers in Qatar.
“Weill Cornell is a household name in medicine and we are delighted to partner with them on such an important programme. Nutrition is a vital component of any healthy lifestyle and we’re hoping that through this new programme, we can uncover any prevalent or latent health concerns among our workers and address any issue that come to light,” SC secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi said.
“We will work with our entire supply chain to make sure we improve our workers’ health and enable our contractors to offer balanced and nutritious options for workers,” he noted.
“This initiative represents an exciting opportunity to tackle a global problem, that of nutritional deficiencies among migrant workers,” WCM-Q dean Dr Javaid I Sheikh said.
“Through this initiative, we not only hope to better understand the specific nutritional needs of workers in Qatar but also to educate them about diet so they can pass this knowledge on to their families when they return home,” he noted.
The launch of the programme follows a number of other significant steps the SC has taken in the last 12 months to improve the welfare of workers on SC construction projects.
These include signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Building and Wood Workers’ International for joint health and safety inspections at accommodations and sites, and the launch of an innovative cooling technologies programme, which involve the identification of cooling helmets, vests and towels for distribution to workers on SC sites.
The SC has eight construction sites across Qatar and just over 10,000 workers on-site at any given time.
The number of workers engaged on SC construction projects is expected to rise to 36,000 in the next 12 months as various projects approach completion or the main works stage.
The Khalifa International Stadium is expected to complete in the second quarter of this year and the Al Wakrah and Qatar Foundation stadiums are rapidly heading towards their completion dates in 2018.
