Ministry of Environment and Water joins whole world in celebrating World Health Day

April 07, 2015: The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water joined the whole world on April 7, 2015, in its celebration of the World Health Day, a global health awareness day celebrated every year on April 7 under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). The Ministry organized a series of health-related activities under the theme ‘Food Safety’ at Al Dhaid Cultural Centre in Sharjah. The activities, which were conducted in collaboration with the Preventive Medicine Centre, are expected to be attended by employees, customers and strategic partners of the Ministry and several private companies.

The coordinated events fall in line with the Ministry’s continuing move to increase awareness on the social responsibility and the significant role that health plays in today’s society, especially its role in the environment and also in the practice of ‘Food Safety,’ wherein a clean and healthy environment should always be maintained and sustained.

Engineer Yousif Al Rayssi, Director of Waste Management and Acting Director of the Government Communications Department, Ministry of Environment and Water, said, “The UAE’s celebration of World Health Day, which is being held under the theme ‘Food Safety,’ is considered to be a very important international occasion as it aims to increase awareness on health as a key environmental factor in the production and sustainability of food.”

Al Rayssi further explained that the Ministry organized these campaigns and community-based activities as part of its commitment towards reinforcing and spreading awareness on the concepts of social responsibility. In addition, the Ministry also aims at creating and enhancing sustainable work environments through raising awareness on the importance of having social responsibility, which represents a fundamental pillar of the prime standard of the success and progress of any organization or entity. He also noted that maintaining health is the responsibility of every member of the community and everyone has to realize the importance of food safety and its impact on health.

Activities held included free diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol testing, distribution of free medical brochures and consultations given by health representatives from participating medical companies—giving advice on how to maintain proper hygiene, choosing the right diet using healthy food, drinking enough water and other useful instructions and recommendations for healthy living.