This includes healthy food and physical activity to prevent obesity and chronic diseases, while building a work environment that is supportive of a healthy lifestyle….reports Asian Lite News
The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has launched the second phase of the ”Healthy and Positive Work Environment” initiative, which provides public employees with the right information and skills to promote healthy lifestyles.
This includes healthy food and physical activity to prevent obesity and chronic diseases, while building a work environment that is supportive of a healthy lifestyle.
The launch ceremony, which was held virtually in the presence of more than 60 representatives of federal and local government agencies, included introducing MoHAP Health Promotion Department and its general and operational strategic objectives.
The initiative includes a number of activities and services, such as a healthy work environment guidelines, which provides practical steps on how to make work environments healthier and more productive for employees, a knowledge bag that contains awareness materials to educate employees, in addition to some services, educational workshops, virtual lectures, videos and educational materials among others.
Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Public Health Sector, said, “The launch of the 2nd phase of ‘Healthy and Positive Work Environment’ initiative, which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, comes as part of MoHAP’s commitment to achieving national resilience and business continuity, while approaching the recovery phase, thanks to government measures and the cooperation of community members, as well as the state’s leadership in containing the repercussions of the global health crisis.”
Al Rand noted that the initiative falls within the Ministry’s strategy to provide comprehensive and integrated health care in innovative and sustainable ways to prevent the spread of diseases in society in order to achieve significant outcomes in the activities and events of the national initiative “Promoting awareness of healthy lifestyles”, which contributes to improving the results of the national indicators of healthy lifestyles in the national agenda of the UAE vision.
He pointed to the fruitful results of the first phase of the initiative which has remarkably contributed to improving the behavior of employees to develop a health-enhancing work environment that positively reflects on their productivity and achieving well-being and happiness in the workplace. This is part of the ministry’s institutional culture in its endeavors to achieve the objectives of National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031, Al Rand noted.
Dr. Fadila Sharif, Director of the Health Promotion Department, MoHAP, said, “The initiative was launched in 2017 and continued until the beginning of 2020, with the participation of 45 government agencies across the UAE and about 5,000 employees. It featured a general health survey for employees in their workplaces, including the most important vital signs, such as measuring blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and risk factors for cardiovascular and diabetes.”