TEHRAN (MNA) – Sahand, a new town in the East Azarbaijan Province of Iran, has just been awarded as a healthy city under WHO’s Healthy Cities Programme.
The award was officially presented during a formal ceremony today, Tuesday 10 August, by WHO Representative to I.R. Iran Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain to the Ministry of Health and Medical Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Governorship of Osku County in the virtual presence of WHO Regional Director for Eastern Mediterranean Office Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari.
The ceremony was attended by Health Minister Dr Saeid Namaki, Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, representatives from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, and local authorities of Sahand, where they delivered closing remarks, and Dr Namaki cited various factors of a healthy city. The website of the National Healthy Cities Network was also unveiled at the event.
The awarding is an important milestone for Iran and in WHO’s Healthy Cities Programme in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, as Iran was the first country in the region to adopt the programme for implementation in 1991 in three settlements in Tehran.
Iran is also among the countries with the highest number of registered cities in the Regional Healthy Cities Network (RHCN). Currently 22 Iranian cities are registerd in the RHCN. Sahand is the first city among the registered ones to be evaluated by WHO and receive the three-year Heathy City Award.
Sahand is located 20km southwest of Tabriz, with a population of about 161,000. The city is still being developed with a steadily growing population, and it is expected to feature future-proof urban spaces and services.
The healthy city program in Sahand started in 2015 with the vision to create “a safe and healthy community for the happy livelihood of every person”.