*WHO also names Qatar University as 'Healthy University' and Qatar Foundation's Education City 'Healthy Education City'
* PM attends ceremony honouring cities of Qatar as 'Healthy Cities'
* PM attends ceremony honouring cities of Qatar as 'Healthy Cities'
HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani attended a ceremony, honouring the cities of Qatar as 'Healthy Cities', at Sheraton Doha Monday morning, the official Qatar News Agency reports.
All municipalities of Qatar have earned the title of 'Healthy City' from the World Health Organisation (WHO), in addition to Qatar University being named 'Healthy University' and Qatar Foundation's Education City 'Healthy Education City'. The recognition comes as an outcome of the National Health Strategy projects 2018-2022, and solidifies Qatar's commitment to enhancing the healthcare sector, the Government Communications Office said.
Qatar is the first country in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) to have all of its municipalities awarded the title of 'Health Cities'.
In February, the municipalities of Doha and Al Rayyan were awarded as 'Healthy Cities', and Qatar Foundation's Education City as 'Healthy Education City' by the WHO. The other municipalities and QU have now joined the list of awardees.
The ceremony included a screening of a documentary film on healthy cities for representatives from the ministries of Public Health and Municipality, WHO, Qatar University (QU) and Generation Amazing, and concluded with the handover of accreditation certificates to the recently approved municipalities and QU.
After the ceremony, HE Prime Minister and Minister of Interior planted a tree as part of the initiative to plant a million trees.
The ceremony was attended by a number of sheikhs, ministers and senior State officials.
Hailing the achievements, HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari said during the ceremony: "Having all the municipalities awarded as 'Healthy Cities', Qatar University as 'Healthy University' and Education City as 'Healthy Education City', is considered an important achievement that comes as a culmination of the great efforts of all sectors of the country to provide sustainable options to achieve the health and well-being of the people of Qatar, guided by the wise vision of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and expresses the commitment to continue to work to improve health through the active collaboration of all State sectors and the society."
She continued, "Accomplishing this achievement, within a short timeframe, demonstrates the hard work and commitment of the teams, and the strong partnerships we have established through the Healthy Cities Network, emphasising the continuation of these efforts in order to improve the health and well-being of the population.
"As Qatar looks forward to welcoming the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 fans from all over the world, Qatar's 'Healthy Cities' will contribute to giving guests a positive experience. Last year, the Ministry of Public Health and Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy signed a partnership with WHO and FIFA with the aim of making the World Cup a beacon to promote physical and mental health, and a model to ensure that future mega sport events are healthy and safe."
HE the Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Subaie said: "All municipalities of Qatar being awarded by the WHO as 'Healthy Cities' is a great achievement accomplished through the collaboration of several entities in the country. This great attention paid by the highest authorities to Qatari cities contributed to their development according to the basics and standards of environmental, health and urban sustainability, which are considered key indicators of healthy cities. This success highlights the partnership and collaboration among the various sectors of the State, to achieve a high quality of life and to improve health, well-being and sustainable development."
He added, "The vision that we are working to achieve through the comprehensive urban plan of Qatar is to create an ideal model for a sustainable urban life that has all the standards and specifications that qualify it to be healthy, livable cities, through achieving the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Municipality in maintaining cities with green facilities suitable for human living and being environmentally friendly. Healthy cities enhance the efforts to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030 and implement comprehensive development and sustainable plans to bring progress and prosperity to society."
Meanwhile, the title 'Healthy University' follows the 'Health Promoting Universities' programme and is also part of the 'Healthy Cities' programme.
Dr Hassan Rashid al-Derham, president of QU, said: "Qatar University's 'Healthy University' award demonstrates the great interest the university attaches to promoting health and well-being, and through its distinctive co-operation with various sectors of the country. This also supports the university's efforts to provide more promotional and developmental programmes for the improvement of the university community's health, in addition to initiatives targeting the Qatari community in general."
He added, "We are keen to support the strategic objectives of the university by creating a stimulating environment for education and providing programmes and services that will contribute to the development of the skills of young people and discover their potential, and this comes out of our belief in the important role of education and higher education in enabling young people to lead meaningful initiatives that contribute to the promotion of the health and well-being of society."
WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Dr Ahmed al-Mandhari, said: "It is a pleasure to join Qatar in celebrating the award of its remaining six municipalities as 'Healthy Cities', following that of Doha and Al Rayyan municipalities earlier this year. This achievement puts Qatar at the forefront of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, where EMRO has granted all its municipalities the status of a 'Healthy City'. In addition to being ranked second among Qatar's health universities, this milestone was made possible by the leadership and support of HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, and all current ministers representing the partnership between WHO and Qatar."
Dr al-Mandhari added: "Qatar offers a model for the implementation of the 'Healthy Cities' programme, which will guide member states at the regional and global levels towards successfully adapting the programme to their country contexts, and we look forward to building on our partnership with Qatar through our country office led by Dr Rayana Ahmad Bou Haka in order to expand the scope of the 'Healthy Cities' programme in the region."
Healthy Cities is a global initiative launched by WHO with the aim of placing health at the top of the social and political agenda of cities by promoting health, equity, and sustainable development through innovation and multi-sectoral change. This initiative is in line with the Regional Vision for the Eastern Mediterranean 2023: Health for All, and by All. The 'Healthy City' award is granted to cities in the world that meet the criteria set by WHO.
The Healthy City programme aims to improve the health of populations by promoting health and well-being, improving equity, enabling communities and preventing the main causes of ill-health through incorporating health in all policies and enhancing co-operation and partnership across different sectors and the society. (QNA)
All municipalities of Qatar have earned the title of 'Healthy City' from the World Health Organisation (WHO), in addition to Qatar University being named 'Healthy University' and Qatar Foundation's Education City 'Healthy Education City'. The recognition comes as an outcome of the National Health Strategy projects 2018-2022, and solidifies Qatar's commitment to enhancing the healthcare sector, the Government Communications Office said.
The prime minister planting a tree on the occasion
Qatar is the first country in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) to have all of its municipalities awarded the title of 'Health Cities'.
In February, the municipalities of Doha and Al Rayyan were awarded as 'Healthy Cities', and Qatar Foundation's Education City as 'Healthy Education City' by the WHO. The other municipalities and QU have now joined the list of awardees.
The ceremony included a screening of a documentary film on healthy cities for representatives from the ministries of Public Health and Municipality, WHO, Qatar University (QU) and Generation Amazing, and concluded with the handover of accreditation certificates to the recently approved municipalities and QU.
After the ceremony, HE Prime Minister and Minister of Interior planted a tree as part of the initiative to plant a million trees.
The ceremony was attended by a number of sheikhs, ministers and senior State officials.
Hailing the achievements, HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari said during the ceremony: "Having all the municipalities awarded as 'Healthy Cities', Qatar University as 'Healthy University' and Education City as 'Healthy Education City', is considered an important achievement that comes as a culmination of the great efforts of all sectors of the country to provide sustainable options to achieve the health and well-being of the people of Qatar, guided by the wise vision of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and expresses the commitment to continue to work to improve health through the active collaboration of all State sectors and the society."
She continued, "Accomplishing this achievement, within a short timeframe, demonstrates the hard work and commitment of the teams, and the strong partnerships we have established through the Healthy Cities Network, emphasising the continuation of these efforts in order to improve the health and well-being of the population.
"As Qatar looks forward to welcoming the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 fans from all over the world, Qatar's 'Healthy Cities' will contribute to giving guests a positive experience. Last year, the Ministry of Public Health and Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy signed a partnership with WHO and FIFA with the aim of making the World Cup a beacon to promote physical and mental health, and a model to ensure that future mega sport events are healthy and safe."
HE the Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Subaie said: "All municipalities of Qatar being awarded by the WHO as 'Healthy Cities' is a great achievement accomplished through the collaboration of several entities in the country. This great attention paid by the highest authorities to Qatari cities contributed to their development according to the basics and standards of environmental, health and urban sustainability, which are considered key indicators of healthy cities. This success highlights the partnership and collaboration among the various sectors of the State, to achieve a high quality of life and to improve health, well-being and sustainable development."
He added, "The vision that we are working to achieve through the comprehensive urban plan of Qatar is to create an ideal model for a sustainable urban life that has all the standards and specifications that qualify it to be healthy, livable cities, through achieving the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Municipality in maintaining cities with green facilities suitable for human living and being environmentally friendly. Healthy cities enhance the efforts to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030 and implement comprehensive development and sustainable plans to bring progress and prosperity to society."
Meanwhile, the title 'Healthy University' follows the 'Health Promoting Universities' programme and is also part of the 'Healthy Cities' programme.
Dr Hassan Rashid al-Derham, president of QU, said: "Qatar University's 'Healthy University' award demonstrates the great interest the university attaches to promoting health and well-being, and through its distinctive co-operation with various sectors of the country. This also supports the university's efforts to provide more promotional and developmental programmes for the improvement of the university community's health, in addition to initiatives targeting the Qatari community in general."
He added, "We are keen to support the strategic objectives of the university by creating a stimulating environment for education and providing programmes and services that will contribute to the development of the skills of young people and discover their potential, and this comes out of our belief in the important role of education and higher education in enabling young people to lead meaningful initiatives that contribute to the promotion of the health and well-being of society."
WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Dr Ahmed al-Mandhari, said: "It is a pleasure to join Qatar in celebrating the award of its remaining six municipalities as 'Healthy Cities', following that of Doha and Al Rayyan municipalities earlier this year. This achievement puts Qatar at the forefront of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, where EMRO has granted all its municipalities the status of a 'Healthy City'. In addition to being ranked second among Qatar's health universities, this milestone was made possible by the leadership and support of HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, and all current ministers representing the partnership between WHO and Qatar."
Dr al-Mandhari added: "Qatar offers a model for the implementation of the 'Healthy Cities' programme, which will guide member states at the regional and global levels towards successfully adapting the programme to their country contexts, and we look forward to building on our partnership with Qatar through our country office led by Dr Rayana Ahmad Bou Haka in order to expand the scope of the 'Healthy Cities' programme in the region."
Healthy Cities is a global initiative launched by WHO with the aim of placing health at the top of the social and political agenda of cities by promoting health, equity, and sustainable development through innovation and multi-sectoral change. This initiative is in line with the Regional Vision for the Eastern Mediterranean 2023: Health for All, and by All. The 'Healthy City' award is granted to cities in the world that meet the criteria set by WHO.
The Healthy City programme aims to improve the health of populations by promoting health and well-being, improving equity, enabling communities and preventing the main causes of ill-health through incorporating health in all policies and enhancing co-operation and partnership across different sectors and the society. (QNA)