KUWAIT CITY, June 24: The Healthy Cities Office at Kuwait’s Ministry of Health launched a Gulf training course aimed at building the capacity of evaluators involved in assessing health-promoting shopping malls across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The two-day program, which began on Tuesday, includes both theoretical sessions and field visits to malls that have successfully passed previous evaluation stages.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Amal Al-Yahya, Director of the Healthy Cities Office, highlighted the course's focus on establishing standardized measurement tools and evaluation mechanisms. She emphasized the importance of developing the necessary skills and considerations for evaluators in promoting public health through healthy environments.

Dr. Al-Yahya explained that the Health-Promoting Shopping Centers and Malls Initiative, known as “Muazaz,” represents a model for implementing the Healthy Cities Initiative’s vision. The initiative aims to enhance public health by addressing social determinants of health and creating environments conducive to well-being.

The course features Kuwait’s experience with the Muazaz initiative as a practical model, providing trainees with exposure to both office-based and on-site evaluations. Dr. Al-Yahya noted that the training is aligned with the unified Gulf guide endorsed by the Joint Gulf Committee for Healthy Cities.

She described the Muazaz initiative as a framework designed to encourage shopping malls to invest in health promotion. The framework has been approved by GCC health ministries and supports malls in enhancing health-friendly environments, making them eligible for official recognition as health-promoting centers.

Dr. Al-Yahya also stressed the importance of transforming shopping spaces into environments that promote healthy living, particularly by supporting vulnerable groups such as individuals with disabilities, infants, pregnant and nursing women, and the elderly.

Dr. Laila Al-Fuzaie, Director of the Healthy Mall Project at the Healthy Cities Office, echoed the initiative’s significance in fostering public health and providing shoppers with a healthy and comfortable experience. She said Kuwait’s development vision includes promoting community health beyond traditional healthcare services by building supportive environments that encourage healthy lifestyles.

Dr. Al-Fuzaie pointed out that the Health-Promoting Mall Initiative has demonstrated the potential for integrating public health into daily life through strategic partnerships. She called for its expansion to all shopping malls and the integration of technology in raising health awareness.

She also outlined the initiative’s objectives, implementation standards, challenges faced, and key achievements — notably, the rise in health awareness among mall visitors.

In conjunction with the training, Kuwait’s Ministry of Health hosted the 24th meeting of the Joint Gulf Committee for Healthy Cities on Monday. The committee reviewed progress on the Health-Promoting Malls Project and discussed advancing from national implementation to a unified Gulf-level initiative.