Doha: A delegation from the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean visited Qatar to assess the request by the Ministry of Public Health for the municipalities of Doha and Al Rayyan to obtain the approval of the “Health City for 2021”.
The Ministry of Public Health and its partners in the various sectors of the country are seeking to adopt the municipalities of Doha and Al Rayyan as healthy cities by WHO, as part of a project that includes the adoption of five healthy cities, including the municipalities of Al Wakra, Al Khor and Al Shamal in later stages, with the aim of providing a healthy environment for citizens, residents and visitors.
One of the objectives of the National Health Strategy 2018-2022 is for at least one city to have the accreditation of a “Healthy City” by WHO by 2022 via implementing intersectoral collaboration under the “Health in All Policies” priority, as there is a strong commitment in Qatar on healthy cities.
In this context, Regional officer of Community-Based Initiatives and Health for Older People and Regional Focal person for Healthy Cities Program Dr. Samar El Feky, along with members of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean delegation, visited the Al Dafna area of Doha Municipality, and the Education City of Al Rayyan Municipality, the two sites under evaluation.
The team also met with a variety of stakeholders from different sectors and expressed great satisfaction with the level of cooperation and interaction.
These efforts are reflected at the national level through the adoption of the newly designed health city logo for the State of Qatar, which is an octagonal logo, and a well-known Arab and Islamic pattern representing the eight municipalities in the State of Qatar. WHO Healthy Cities is a global movement working to put health high on the social, economic and political agenda of city governments by promoting health, equity and sustainable development through innovation and multi-sectoral change.
