DUBAI - The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) hosted a regional expert meeting on healthy diet policies in Dubai. The event, which was hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, aimed to discuss recent developments in the field of healthy diet policies at the regional level, with a special emphasis on the UAE and GCC countries, in light of the Strategy on Nutrition for the Eastern Mediterranean Region 2020–2030.

Senior officials and experts from the UAE's health and related sectors, as well as experts and representatives from the GCC states, attended the meeting. Additionally, many other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region participated remotely.

The meeting explored ways to advance food system actions that support healthy diets, evaluated the latest guidelines and trends, and facilitated discussions on opportunities for collaboration. It aimed to gain insights from international experiences in implementing the four key areas of work: food reformulation and processing, public food procurement, fiscal policies, and food labelling.

The event assessed member states' support needs and opportunities for cooperation and examined the experiences of countries in implementing policies in these four areas. It informed member states of the latest guidelines issued by the WHO and its related initiatives.

Dr. Hussein Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Public Health Sector, MoHAP, stressed that the UAE is committed to enhancing cooperation with the WHO Regional Office to become one of the leading countries in the field of healthy food systems. The UAE is working on various national programmes and legislation aimed at promoting healthy food for individuals, reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases and malnutrition, and raising their quality of life.

The implementation of these programmes will contribute to reducing the costs of spending on disease treatment, ensuring the health of generations of children and adolescents, achieving food security for the country, raising the quality of life, and ensuring its long-term sustainability.

Al Rand highlighted that the WHO regional meeting lays out a comprehensive roadmap to develop healthy and sustainable food systems that can lead to improved health indicators, prioritise prevention, and reduce the incidence of lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

The UAE is committed to implementing international best practices to strengthen its healthy food systems and protect society from chronic diseases. To achieve a healthier and more sustainable future, the UAE will expand the scope of nutrition initiatives and follow international and regional policies and strategies to promote health and education in the field of nutrition, Al Rand added.

Nouf Khamis Al Ali, the Director of the Health Promotion Department, highlighted that the Ministry, in collaboration with its strategic partners, has launched various initiatives and health education programmes aimed at promoting nutrition awareness and healthy diets among the public. These initiatives are aligned with national strategies that support the objectives of the healthy nutrition agenda, with a focus on preventing diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.