People living in the capital are being encouraged to join a city-wide campaign to make Manama healthier.
Manama is on track to becoming an accredited ‘Healthy City’ under the Healthy Cities Programme, an initiative launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to improve general health and combat non-communicable diseases in cities around the world.
The programme has a set of 80 criteria and at least 80 per cent should be fulfilled in order to be accredited as a ‘Healthy City’.
The criteria include community organisation and mobilisation for health and development, intersectoral collaboration, partnership, advocacy, water, sanitation, food safety, air pollution, and health development among others.
In 2018 Umm Al Hassam went through the same process and received the accreditation. This year the Health Ministry in co-operation with the Capital Governorate hoping to do the same for Manama.
“The initiative will focus on improving the health status and quality of life of citizens and residents, achieve sustainable development goals, increase awareness regarding health, environmental and social issues,” said a Health Ministry spokesperson.
“(The programme) will position health as a priority in all sectors and encourage community participation to achieve public health goals.
“This programme aims to increase health awareness; it will help in reducing the incidence and prevalence of non-communicable diseases.
“The initiative will include projects related to this programme like a healthy mall project, healthy workplaces project and health promoting schools.”
Other projects include more fitness clubs, developmental projects for productive families, awareness talks and lectures, increasing greenery in Manama, and supporting women and youth.
The ministry also said the initiative is a continuous process, with accreditation of the city being renewing every three years.
Evaluation
Capital Governor Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa also revealed that WHO experts have recently completed an evaluation of the criteria for the eligibility of Manama for the title of ‘Healthy City’.
“Everyone realised since the announcement that Manama represented an integrated work cell, where everyone from individuals and families, all the ministries, civil society institutions, and the private sector, must collaborate with the aim of obtaining this international title for the area,” said Shaikh Hisham.
“The first fruits of this programme is the accreditation of the Officer’s Club, located in Qudaibiya, as the first health promoting government institution in Bahrain, where Health Minister Faeqa Al Saleh delivered the certificate of accreditation in the presence of WHO representatives.”
He added that work and co-operation will continue to have Manama accredited as the second ‘Healthy City’ in Bahrain.
The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with other government bodies, non-governmental organisations and the local community.
The GDN previously reported that Bahrain has the third highest obesity rates in the Gulf, at 20pc among males and 38pc among females. Fifteen per cent of adults in Bahrain also have a form of diabetes, according to latest statistics.
ghazi@gdn.com.bh
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