The UAE participated in the 10th Global Conference on Health Promotion for Well-being, Equity, and Sustainable Development, which was held virtually from 13 - 15 December.
The conference was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO)and was attended by heads of state and government, ministers, global experts in the field of health promotion, representatives from international organizations, development partners, civil society organizations, professional organizations, patient organizations, think tanks and academia.
H.E Abdul Rahman bin Mohamed Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, delivered the UAE speech on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in which he said: "Since its founding 50 years ago, the UAE had firmly believed that investing in people achieves the highest outcomes and returns, as the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE, said: "Building the human being is the true wealth".
Important role for the UAE
Al Owais added: " Although it was established only 50 years ago, the UAE has become one of the countries that formulate standards and measures for nations to flourish. As a result, the UAE has participated in launching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2020, in collaboration with the United Nations, under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The country has also occupied a seat representing the Asia-Pacific region and the Arab groups as well and played an instrumental role in issues like energy, education, global partnership, health, water, and women empowerment.
Global solidarity
The UAE health minister continued to say, "We are now moving forward more than ever to achieve what we have planned and looking forward eagerly to the future. We, along with the Cabinet team, have approved the National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031 in order to promote an integrated concept of wellbeing to advance the quality of human life in all aspects of life, including economic, social, environmental, and health aspects."
"Global solidarity, mobilizing national energies, transferring knowledge, and delivering quality health services to those in need is the backbone to address Covid-19 and future pandemics. We are happy with what the UAE has achieved in this field, however, we must remain vigilant and maintain all preventive, curative and rehabilitative measures to enter the recovery phase at the social, economic, and health levels," Al Owais said in conclusion.
Conference Objectives
It is noteworthy that the conference objectives are to discuss how to extend health promotion to advance well-being and equity, building on evidence and experience, to foster healthier populations; identify realistic interventions for health promotion and well-being to accelerate progress in achieving the SDGs; emphasize the role of health promotion in public health emergency preparedness and response, and seize opportunities to build healthier, fairer societies; explore innovative health promotion approaches to enable societies and communities to flourish.