Ministry hosts community health event in Sharjah

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) organised a community health event to enhance public awareness of healthy food and highlight the value of physical activity during the summer.

Held under the theme "Summer with you", the campaign is the latest in a series of awareness-raising initiatives the ministry has developed to promote preventive patterns, behaviour, and sound practices among children, and support its goal of lowering the prevalence of childhood obesity.

Furthermore, the event comes in line with the ministry's promotional plans for its summer camp, "Together for Fun Summer II," which is going to take place this July and August across the UAE, targeting children of different ages as well as their families. 

In addition to educating the community about healthy food choices, physical activity, and the need to take advantage of the summer season by engaging in a variety of activities while staying away from electronic screens, the summer camp also aims to educate children about healthy food choices and the importance of physical activity.

Dr Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Health Sector at MoHAP, stressed that the ministry will continue to launch awareness campaigns to support national health indicators, outline and promote healthy behaviour to encourage children to adopt them as a way of life in order to maintain their health and prevent obesity and other related diseases, in line with the UAE National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031.

On her part, Nouf Khamis Al Ali, Director of the Health Promotion Department at MoHAP, said that the event, which has been staged in cooperation with Sahara Centre and DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Sharjah, has not only highlighted healthy culture and behaviour among children but also educated parents about the importance of exercise for improving the health of their children for at least 60 minutes a day, according to the World Health Organisation's guidelines for exercising.

A recent report said the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) conducted more than 5,787 field visits to private medical facilities and over 54 judicial seizures in coordination with strategic partners during the year 2021, to ensure the optimal use and availability of medical products and services to serve the health of individuals and society.