UAE — The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has launched the National Nutrition Strategy 2022-2030 which aims to create healthier school settings and coordinate efforts to encourage healthy eating habits.
This comes as part of MoHAP’s ongoing efforts to support the UAE’s visions aimed at improving the health of younger generations, achieving food security, and raising the quality of life and its sustainability.
The strategy was launched during an event hosted by the ministry at the Etihad Museum. Salem Al Darmaki, advisor to the Minister of Health and Prevention, and Nouf Khamis Al Ali, director of the Health Promotion Department at MoHAP, were present.
This is the second nutrition strategy. The first was from 2017 to 2021.
Also taking part were representatives of 22 government and private entities, including strategic partners from various sectors, such as health, education, municipalities, trade, industry, agriculture, economy, and the food industry.
The strategy has five targets: developing sustainable and flexible food systems for healthy diets, providing health systems and comprehensive coverage of basic nutrition measures, offering social protection and nutrition education, providing safe and supportive environments for nutrition at all ages, and following an advanced food strategy.
Speaking on the occasion, Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, emphasized that the National Nutrition Strategy lays out a comprehensive road map for the development of a healthy food system based on sustainable practices and a participatory approach that incorporates a broad range of strategic partners.
“We look forward to achieving the healthy nutrition goals for all sectors of society through this plan while also delivering health care services of top-notch quality,” he said.
Al Owais added that the ministry’s collaboration with numerous stakeholders in putting the strategy into practice will help achieve the long-term objectives of creating a sustainable health system and enhancing the nutritional status of society, in a way that ensures the health and well-being of individuals as well as families and upgrades the sustainable development of our society as a whole.
“MoHAP is committed to implementing the strategy in collaboration with other stakeholders, using clear coordination channels, and basing all policies on the ‘One Health’ concept. We will make every possible effort to decrease the prevalence of diseases connected to lifestyle and enhance the results of national health indicators.
“Driven by the National Strategy for Wellbeing and ‘We the UAE 2031’ Strategy, the strategy would help improve data based on specific criteria for monitoring progress and evaluating results,” Al Owais explained.
Meanwhile, Nouf Khamis Al Ali underscored that the strategy will build on the progress made by previous strategies, programs, and other complementary policies as it adopts data-based interventions and programs to create an environment conducive to good nutrition and develop implementation solutions for optimal infant and child nutrition.
The newly launched strategy will also help create healthier school settings and coordinate efforts to encourage healthy eating habits, thus supporting the federal strategy set to reduce childhood obesity and enhance maternal and child health, national guidelines for preconception care at the same time, Al Ali noted.
Dr Ayoub Al Jawaldeh, regional adviser in Nutrition, World Health Organization (WHO), lauded the ministry’s strategy, which according to him will improve the nutritional status of the UAE population.
“Launching this strategy reflects the commitment of the UAE health authorities and stakeholders to address nutritional challenges and achieve the World Health Assembly goals to reduce nutrition and non-communicable diseases and the sustainable development goals,” he said.
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