PROMOTING WELLNESS BUILDS HEALTHIER SOCIETIES

Now and then, people, societies and countries are reminded of fundamental truths that we have taken for granted. The pandemic has jogged our collective memory to remember the adage, 'Health is not just the absence of disease but the integration of a healthy body in a healthy mind'. It has become clear to the world that it need not wait for a disease or illness to ravage populations to renew its commitment to build healthy societies. We must build healthy communities because that is a best practice to ensure our collective future.

 In the UAE, preventive health or wellness has been integral to pursuing its national health goals. Therefore, the UAE's National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031 is an integrated wellbeing concept, supporting Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071.  It includes 14 components and nine strategic objectives, including enhancing people's wellbeing by promoting healthy and active lifestyles, promoting good mental health, and adopting positive thinking.

The strategy works at three levels: individuals, society, and the country.

  A healthy society begins with a healthy individual. So, it is necessary to support and encourage every individual to aspire to this goal through collective effort. The stakeholders in this goal-orientation, apart from the individual, are communities, corporates, healthcare providers, schools, and the government.

The UAE is a role model in promoting healthy lifestyles for people, as its year-round campaigns and awareness initiatives prove. And this objective is being ably supported by schools, corporates, communities, and healthcare providers in the UAE.

 We must continue to teach children to adopt healthy lifestyles.

Companies must continue to adopt corporate wellness programs for their employees.  

Communities must promote health awareness.

And healthcare providers must increasingly engage with communities to raise awareness on preventive health. At PRIME Healthcare Group, we endeavor to educate and promote wellness and preventative approach to health in the community through various campaigns, activities, and immunization programs.

 It is necessary to re-emphasize, however, that at the heart of this momentum is the individual. Wellness begins at home. It starts with you and me doing our best to be an ambassador of health, not just for our family but for our friends, colleagues, and neighbors.

Each one of us needs to become the change that we want to see.