Oman

Barka Health City comes under healthy cities network

Muscat: The World Health Organisation has included Barka Health City in the healthy city network of the region. This recording came after Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammed al Buraiki, Wali of Barka, signed a letter of cooperation for Barka Health City with Dr Jan Jabbour, representative of the World Health Organisation. The recognition is part of the basic goal of the General Directorate of Health Services in Al Batinah South Governorate to improve its health services.

The move emphasises quality health care for everyone, as well as developing the idea of a healthy lifestyle programme in a healthy city. It focuses on environmental and social aspects as one of the most important determinants of health and the most important programmes to enhance the health of individuals and reduce the risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

Barka's inclusion in the healthy cities system is based on indicators studied by the stakeholders in the Ministry of Health and some relevant authorities, the most important of which is the rapid growth in the state population and the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases.

The partnership programme that will be between Barka city and the WHO aims to study the health problems that Barka city suffers from and to develop plans and programmes to address them and determine their priorities according to a specific timetable with the participation of various governmental and private agencies and the people of this state.

The WHO representative praised the Barka Health City's inclusion in the network. 'It is fortunate that the Wilayat of Barka is added to the network of global health cities as an integrated health city.'

The Healthy Cities Programme is one of the health promotion programmes that is based on the principle of community participation from individuals and governmental and non-governmental institutions. Through this participation, it seeks to achieve the best level by designing and implementing strategies to promote community health, which will positively reflect on economic development.