The "Partnership for Healthy Cities" initiative was recently launched in a group of public schools in Cairo Governorate by the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, Cairo Governorate, and the Egyptian Food Bank.
The launch event was attended by His Excellency the Minister Health and Population, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, His Excellency the Minister of Education, Dr. Reda Hegazy, and the Governor of Cairo, Governor of Cairo, Khaled Abdel Aal.
The goal of the initiative is to prevent undiagnosed illnesses and promote healthy living practices. It is part of the global network "SUBSCRIBE for Healthy Cities", which is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and partnered with the WHO and the Vital Foundation. Local partners commit to choosing a program from 14 different options that target the risk factors for injuries and non-morbid diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Cairo joined the initiative in 2021 and chose a program aimed at promoting and providing healthy foods in public schools. The Minister of Health and Population emphasized that this program aligns with the Ministry's efforts to improve the health of future generations.
The initiative includes an evaluation of the information, attitudes, and behaviors of students, teachers, and the community regarding healthy nutrition. Based on the results of this evaluation, educational content is created to raise awareness about healthy nutrition. Additionally, interactive educational games are developed for children.
The initiative also evaluates the environment for selling school canteen food items and the quality of those items. It regulates the equipment and supplies that enable the canteens to stock healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables as a healthy alternative to unhealthy snacks full of sugars.
Health educators and school cafeteria officials are trained to provide scientific information on health for students and encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Dr. Nima Abid, the WHO representative in Egypt, stated that a person's health is multidimensional and depends on various interconnected factors including physical, mental, psychological, social, behavioral, and societal determinants.
She affirmed that WHO is committed to mitigating the common factors that lead to communicable diseases and injuries. Non-communicable diseases account for 84% of deaths in Egypt, so it is important to work on the most widespread factors, such as unhealthy nutrition, to promote educational change and change the behavior of children and future generations.
The initiative aims to change children's health awareness and promote new ideas to improve the nutritional environment. It aims to train children to improve their misconceptions and habits through a health application only available in schools participating in the Healthy Cities Project.
The Egyptian Food Bank provides healthy foods that meet food safety standards, operating the canteen, and carrying out interactive health messages simply and attractively in schools.
This is part of the bank's "school nutrition" program, which is one of its most important affirmation programs.
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