KUWAIT: The World Health Organization’s (WHO) selection of Kuwait among 32 leading countries around the world with a plan to accelerate efforts to eliminate obesity “reflects a strong commitment and conscious leadership that supports multi-sectoral partnership and political commitment at the highest levels to achieve health for all, a health ministry official said.

Director of the Nutrition and Feeding Department at the Ministry of Health, Dr Hasnaa Ayyad, said in a press statement on Tuesday that the development plan and the New Kuwait Vision 2035 included projects aimed at reducing obesity rates in Kuwait, which is one of the most important risk factors for many diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Dr Ayyad pointed out that combating childhood obesity in particular is one of the goals of the development plan, noting that the first national workshop held recently by the Ministry in coordination with the WHO office in Kuwait and the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition comes to implement the plan to accelerate the elimination of obesity in the country. The workshop, which was attended by representatives of several official bodies and experts from the World Health Organization, reviewed the mechanism for implementing the plan to accelerate the pace of eliminating obesity and set priorities with a focus on the expected time frame to achieve it.

Officials agreed to develop a national roadmap aimed at accelerating work to eliminate obesity in Kuwait through an evidence-based approach by challenging the status quo, enhancing joint efforts across sectors and community awareness, stimulating collective action, and setting a new standard for addressing obesity. The experts at the workshop stressed that the plan aims to reduce obesity rates, which constitute a major health burden on societies, by implementing effective strategies based on scientific evidence. - KUNA