Dr. Amal Al-Yahya, Director of the Healthy Cities Department at the Ministry of Health, emphasized the critical need for unified Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) efforts in healthy cities development during her address at the 24th GCC Joint Healthy Cities Committee meeting on Monday. She highlighted the program's role in enhancing public health, community engagement, and sustainable development through cross-sectoral collaboration among member states.

Key Meeting Outcomes:

1. Health-Promoting Malls Framework

   • Finalization of the "Mu'aziz" certification standards for health-promoting commercial complexes

   • Two-day capacity building workshop (beginning Tuesday) for GCC evaluators, including field visits to certified malls

2. Implementation Roadmap

   • Transition from national to GCC-wide application of healthy cities standards

   • Review of evaluation visit schedules and Kuwait's 2nd Healthy Cities Conference (February 2024) recommendations

   • Development of operational plans for measurable health outcomes

3. Strategic Priorities

   • Expansion of WHO-certified healthy cities across the GCC

   • Strengthened civil society partnerships for sustainable health programs

   • Enhanced environmental sustainability metrics for urban health