Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Madinah has joined the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Healthy Cities list, making it possibly the first city in the world with a population of more than two million people to be awarded the title. Madinah received its accreditation in recognition of its efforts to meet the global standards required to become a Healthy City under the WHO program.
In order to achieve this sought-after title, the city created an integrated program that involved collaborations between government, community, and third sector bodies, and included a strategic partnership with Taibah University, as well as the formation of a supervisory committee. Criteria included meeting goals set by the Madinah Region Strategy Project and the launch of a “Humanizing Cities” program.
The World Health Organization has acknowledged the Saudi city of Madinah as one of the world's healthiest cities, granting it accreditation after meeting all the global standards for WHO's healthy cities program. This is notable for a city with over 2 million people living in it. pic.twitter.com/h5tIJJvW6r
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) January 24, 2021
WHO defines a Healthy City as one that aims to: create a health-supportive environment; achieve a good quality of life; provide basic sanitation and hygiene needs; and supply access to health care. Indeed, according to the organization’s official website, a healthy city is “one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and developing to their maximum potential.”
WHO follows what it calls a Healthy Settings approach, which is based on key principles such as community participation, partnership, empowerment, and equity, which was designed to maximize disease prevention through what it calls "whole system" approach. This approach integrates multi-disciplinary action across risk factors.
The organization’s Healthy Cities program, initiated in 1986, is the best-known example of a successful Healthy Settings approach. It believes that being Healthy City depends not on current health infrastructure, but rather on a commitment to improve a city's environs and a willingness to forge the necessary connections in various arenas.
