Sharjah 24: Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Muhairi, Director General of the Sharjah Health Authority (SHA) and Chairman of the Executive Committee for expansion of Healthy Cities in the Emirate of Sharjah, affirmed that the percentage of meeting the criteria for the Healthy Cities Programme has reached 98% based on internal review and what has been accomplished during 2018-2020 in the Emirate of Sharjah, in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s cirteria, pointing to the importance of concerted efforts and continued work to fulfill the requirements of expanding the scope of the healthy cities programme in the emirate.

The Healthy Cities Department of the AHA commended the efforts of government agencies and departments in the Sharjah that contribute to achieving the goals of the programme and providing a sustainable healthy environment in accordance with the visions and directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, as Sharjah has become a model for the implementation of the Healthy Cities Programme.

This came during the ninth meeting of the Executive Committee for expansion of Healthy Cities in Sharjah held remotely via visual communication technology, in the presence of members and coordinators of the committee to discuss the latest developments in the expansion of the Sharjah Healthy Cities Programme.

During the meeting, Dr. Abdulaziz Al Muhairi, in a virtual meeting with the WHO, reviewed the 2020 achievements, and in another meeting with the joint committee with health cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Al Muhairi discussed ways to address the Corona pandemic, in addition to intensifying awareness campaigns from the participating authorities.

The meeting discussed ways to strengthen institutional and community partnership with the aim of providing the best health services to citizens and residents of Sharjah by uniting and intensifying efforts in the public interest of individuals, gathering resources and coordinating between the concerned authorities to implement the healthy cities programme criteria.

Aisha Hussain Al Hosani, Head of Institutional Innovation Department at the Sharjah Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD), reviewed the profile of the Emirate of Sharjah, "The Sharjah Document", which contains comprehensive data about the emirate, and aims to involve all entities and institutions of the emirate in providing a healthy, safe and sustainable socially, economically and healthy environment to achieve an ideal community. 

The members of the committee stressed the importance of working closely to achieve the highest health standards, institutional and community partnership to fulfill WHO requirements, and underlined the important role of various parties in achieving the criteria for expanding the scope of healthy cities, especially in light of the exceptional health conditions witnessed by the world due to the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. 

The meeting also dealt with the results that have been achieved since the launch of the programme, as the Emirate of Sharjah has become an ideal environment for citizens and residents through working to achieve the highest levels of quality of life for the residents of the emirate, by expanding the range of healthy cities to include all regions of the emirate, thus ensuring the continued provision of the best health services. Work has been made on preparing an electronic network for the programme, which includes health networks in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries.

The programme continued to organise virtual events and health initiatives in cooperation with the expansion partners of healthy cities in Sharjah, and to continue to work to spread the culture of healthy cities that is based on the foundations of creating environmentally friendly work teams that seek to implement international standards at the individual and community levels.