At the end of last year, the Doha and Al Rayyan municipalities obtained the WHO accreditation as “Healthy Cities”, while Education City of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development was accredited as a “Healthy Educational City”.
Assistant Undersecretary for Municipal Affairs Mansour Abdullah al-Mahmoud welcomed the WHO delegation as part of the assessment procedures for the remaining six municipalities of Qatar.
He pointed out that work teams comprising officials of the ministries of public health and municipality are constantly co-ordinating to facilitate the inspection visit.
The WHO Regional Adviser for Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health and the Health of the Elderly, Dr Samar El-Feki, explained that the visit by members of the WHO delegation indicates progress of the programme in Qatar, despite the situation related to coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and reflects the commitment at the highest levels to sustainable development and health promotion.
She said that after the adoption of Doha and Al Rayyan as “Healthy Cities”, and Education City as a “Healthy Educational City”, the MoPH strengthened the momentum that paved the way for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to unite communities and local authorities under the framework of healthy cities, leading to the submission of evaluation requests for the six municipalities and one university.
The delegation visited Al Wakra Municipality to review its sustainable development file and the most prominent projects and initiatives of the municipality in preparation for its adoption as the third “Healthy City” in Qatar.
The delegation was briefed on the important projects and programmes implemented by Al Wakra, which contributed to it obtaining the Unesco Learning Cities Award for 2021, as one of the WHO objectives within the criteria of the “Healthy City” programme, in co-operation with the MoPH.