The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) recently organised a workshop to develop a national policy aimed at promoting healthy living among community members. The workshop was chaired by Dr Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Health Sector in the presence of Dr Lubna Al Shaali, Director of Health Policies and Legislation Department, Dr Rasha Salama, Public Health Adviser at the ministry and leading officials from the public health and health education sectors.

National framework

During the workshop, Dr Al Rand underlined the importance of encouraging a healthy lifestyle and promoting mental health for all community members as part of the national framework. The framework works at three levels, including individuals, society, and the country to promote the significance of healthy living for the public. He also pointed out that the framework will operate in line with the National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031 aimed at promoting an integrated notion of wellbeing to further support the UAE Centennial 2071.

“Together with increasing society’s capacity to adopt a healthy lifestyle with all the necessary skills, our goal is to create a legislative environment supportive of health, and to engage civil society organisations along with public and private sectors involved in health promotion initiatives,” Al Rand added.

The workshop focused on three national indicators:

· Prevalence of childhood obesity

· Persons with diabetes

· Smokers.

Participants of the workshop further underlined three courses of action, including legislation and policies, awareness and media, research and studies.

Dr Lubna Al Shaali affirmed that the policy is aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle as a national framework containing a roadmap with numerous opportunities to achieve the desired goal.

According to the official, the policy also places relevant emphasis on modifiable behavioural factors that will help in preventing diseases and promoting a healthy lifestyle among the community members.

 SOURCE: Gulf News

LINK: https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/new-uae-policy-to-promote-healthy-lifestyles-soon-1.86978786