ShareKUWAIT: Head of the Kuwait Healthy Cities Office at the Ministry of Health (MoH), Dr. Amal Al-Yahya, affirmed the continual progress in regards to the “Healthy Cities” initiative through applied strategies to keep pace with updated plans and the foundation of these cities. During Monday’s workshop on the “review for healthy cities,” Dr. Al-Yahya mentioned the signing of cooperation agreements for more companies, resource mobilization and attraction, and other initiatives.
Dr. Al-Yahya highlighted that the office has been working in recent years on formulating the national strategy for healthy cities to align with future national, regional, and global trends. The workshop, she added, aims to review features and purposes in creating a national strategy for healthy cities in 2023–2030, enabling current registered healthy cities and cities eager to join the initiative in implementing development plans in coordination with current applied approaches.
Additionally, Dr. Al-Yahya reviewed the methods for preparing the strategies and their components, the package of new initiatives, and how to achieve health development standards for healthy cities in alignment with the national strategy. Furthermore, Dr. Al-Yahya reaffirmed the importance of creating and implementing healthy cities within Kuwaiti areas to achieve the highest level of health and well-being amongst Kuwaiti society members.
Not only will healthy cities include medical facilities for accessibility purposes, but they will also enrich the environment, stimulate the economy, and boost national values within a community. On his part, the Director of the Planning and Development Department at the MoH, Dr. Maitham Husain, affirmed the significance of the four-day workshop in obtaining skills and in preparation for Kuwait’s fourth development.
It was also important for the government’s current legislative session action plan and the Minister of Health, Dr. Ahmad Al-Awadhi’s, desire for the MoH to have a strategic vision in place. Moreover, Dr. Husain underscored Kuwait’s commitment to achieving the third goal out of the 17 sustainable development goals related to health and its commitment to realizing Kuwait Vision 2035. He mentioned that there were 20 projects contributing to health enhancements in Kuwait Vision, involving a myriad of state sectors.
This included the MoH with around eight projects consisting of initiatives for combating chronic non-communicable diseases, the national project for cities, the establishment of Kuwait Medical City and the medical city in Sabah Al-Ahmad Area, assurances of the quality of healthcare services, and other health projects. — KUNA
