UAE, November 5, 2015 – The Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced activities lined up for its celebration of the ‘Healthy Children 2021,’ a national campaign aimed towards promoting good health practices and values among children in the UAE. Held in collaboration with the National Campaign Task Force, the initiative complements the country’s ‘National Program for Government Communications.’ The ‘Healthy Children 2021’ program is being held under the slogan ‘2021 Step’ and will act as an innovative platform to showcase a wide range of awareness raising activities on the importance of health, particularly focusing on dietary habits—helping reduce the proportion of obesity among today’s children to 12 per cent by the year 2021. The program is set to run from November 5 to November 7, 2015 at the City Centre Mirdif.

In line with the national campaign, the MoH will organize a ‘Together Walk’ event on November 6, 2015. The march is expected to increase awareness on the significance of walking as a form of exercise across all the emirates. The event is expected to be participated in by students, parents, teachers, senior government officials and ministry staff. To help heighten awareness, the ‘Together Walk’ activity is widely being promoted across all social media channels through the hashtag #2021Step.

His Excellency (H.E.) Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Health, said, “This campaign plays a significant role in the Ministry’s efforts to increase awareness on the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and the move to achieve a sustainable health system for the whole country. We are committed to doing this via the promotion and adoption of innovative and effective policies that fall in line with the ‘Smart Government’ program to systematize health behavior, which will be covered during the second phase of ‘Healthy Children 2021.’

The campaign’s implementation is in cooperation and coordination with the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, a team of federal, local and private representatives under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Health. The group is composed of representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs, the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare and the Health Authorities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Dr. Hussein Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for Health Centres & Clinics and Chairperson of the ‘Healthy Children 2021’ task force, shared that the objective of the activity is aimed towards achieving an appropriate environment wherein individuals and families can follow a healthy lifestyle and avoid cases of obesity. The activities at City Centre Mirdif fall within the activities of the Healthy Children 2021 national campaign, which was launched in January 2015 and lasted for four months—highlighted by a communication campaign and activities designed to increase educational and awareness levels, involving various government and local authorities.

Dr. Al Rand invited parents and members of the community to take part in the activities of the campaign at City Centre Mirdif, which have all been designed to promote healthy lifestyles and positive behavior for children.

In addition, Dr. Fadhila Mohammed Sharif, Director – Education Management and Health Promotion, MoH, shared that they will be placing a special stand where a sports coach specialist will be present to give small talks and encourage the children to take part in the challenges and sporting competitions at the event. There will also be an area where children can paint health-inspired works of art under the supervision of volunteer students from Zayed University. Lastly, MoH specialists will also be present to interact and communicate with participants—providing free medical tests (BMI, Blood Pressure Checks, etc.). There will also be a ‘Health Bike’ which participants can use to win special prizes.