UAE, July 18, 2018- The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) held the closing ceremony of the ‘Art for Health 2018’ competition. The winners were awarded in the presence of H.E. Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for Health Centers and Clinics; and Dr. Fadila Sharif, Director of Education and Health Promotion Department.

Dr. Rand thanked the attendees and youth especially for contributing towards building an effective communication bridge with the wise leadership. This in turn ensures the achievement of a better future built on the capabilities and accomplishments of young people and further establishes the UAE's leadership in the fields of competitiveness and indicators of international excellence.

H.E. added: “I am delighted to be a part of the closing ceremony of ‘Art for Health 2018,’ which was launched by the Ministry of Health and Prevention to raise awareness of the community members about the importance of healthy lifestyles and utilizing young people’s capabilities to take on the health-related challenges in the country through presenting health issues in a creative way to unify efforts and synergies. The use of art as a new form of communication to convey the Ministry’s messages is aimed at improving the health of present and future generations.”

He pointed out that this year’s competition focused on three indicators within the national agenda, which included tackling obesity in children and adolescents in the age group of 5-17 years; reducing the mortality rates of cardiovascular diseases; and reducing the incidence of diabetes in the country. He pointed out that the launch of the ‘Art for Health’ awards forms part of the Ministry's strategy to promote healthy lifestyles in the UAE community and to provide comprehensive and integrated healthcare in innovative and sustainable ways to ensure community’s protection against diseases. It also supports the Ministry’s and its partners’ efforts in the UAE to develop the National Strategy for Combating Noncommunicable Diseases (2017-2021), in line with the National Agenda 2021 to develop a health system and to provide comprehensive health coverage based on the highest international standards. The award comes in line with the UAE's commitment to the National Agenda 2030 of Sustainable Development and the achievement of excellence in the implementation by ensuring healthy lifestyles and well-being.

Dr. Fadila Sherif explained that the ‘Art for Health’ award has four categories - Film, Animation, Photography and Drawing. The best three posts were selected in each category and the results were announced. She pointed out that the goal of the ‘Art for Health’ competition is to encourage young people in the UAE to create art works that highlight the most important health challenges in the society from an innovative perspective to make a positive difference.

She added that all initiatives by the Ministry in the field of health education are aimed at building a healthy society by enabling people to adopt healthy lifestyles that contribute to reducing the spread of noncommunicable diseases. This contributes to improving the national index of healthy quality of life by providing the highest levels of healthcare that meets the needs of individuals.