The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has announced the launch of a virtual summer camp to encourage children to adopt healthy lifestyles during the summer.
Themed “Together for a fun summer”, the event will run from July 4 to August 15, 2021, targeting children and adolescents aged 6 to 15. It will feature a wide range of educational, physical and recreational activities including the “Healthy Cooking”, a programme that will give children the opportunity to learn how to prepare simple and healthy meals.
The list of activities also includes “Gym with you” initiative, which will see organizing physical exercises by sports coaches to encourage and motivate children to practice physical activity.
This is in addition to the “Little Chef” program, which features a series of educational classes and practical cooking workshops to train children on the basics and rules of choosing healthy products and cooking methods. The course will teach participants how to prepare healthy meals and compete to win the title of “Little Chef”.
A wide range of awareness workshops will also be held to discuss various health topics, provide children with necessary health information and promote children awareness on how to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Quality awareness programs
Speaking in the occasion, Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary of the Ministry’s Health Centres and Clinics Sector, lauded the launch of the virtual summer camp, saying it comes in line with MoHAP’s awareness programmes launched to promote preventive patterns, behaviours and sound practices among children.
“The ministry attaches utmost attention to properly develop healthy generations, ensure their psychological and physical safety, and enhance the level of health care services provided in accordance with the best international practices,” Al Rand said.
Fighting childhood obesity
He emphasized that the virtual camp will support the ministry’s plans aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles to prevent diseases and encouraging the public, especially children, to adopt healthy lifestyles.
“The camp will include a series of initiatives and interesting activities that would focus on establishing healthy nutritional practices and promoting physical activity among children. It will also support the goals of the National Plan to Combat Childhood Obesity and help achieve the national strategy to reduce childhood obesity, given that it is an advanced national priority,”
Promoting health awareness
For her part, Dr Nouf Khamis Al Ali, Deputy Director, Health Education and Promotion Department, MoHAP, stressed that the virtual camp represents a golden opportunity for children and young people to invest their time during the summer and gain knowledge about ways to promote healthy lifestyles through awareness initiatives and workshops that will be delivered creatively to achieve the maximum benefit.
She highlighted the importance of the camp, adding that it will motivate and encourage children to adopt healthy diets and exercise physical activity in light of the current health conditions, where healthy food and physical activity are considered one of the factors that enhance immunity and prevent diseases.
