Salalah – The Ministry of Health (MoH) is set to host the inaugural conference on healthy cities, titled ‘Salalah Healthy City’, at the Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex for Culture and Entertainment in Salalah, on Wednesday.

The conference will be inaugurated under the patronage of H H Sayyid Marwan bin Turki al Said, Governor of Dhofar, and will feature prominent attendees, including H E Dr Hilal bin Ali bin Hilal al Sabti, Minister of Health, and Dr Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Other notable participants include several undersecretaries of MoH and Dr Jean Jabbour, WHO Representative in Oman.

The two-day event is organised by MoH and WHO. The conference aims to engage a diverse range of stakeholders in the development of healthy cities and villages, including representatives from government, private, and civil sectors, as well as individuals interested in sustainable development across Oman and the Eastern Mediterranean region.

WHO regional director’s first visit

H E Dr Sabti on Monday met with Dr Hanan during her first visit to Oman since taking office. The meeting, attended by H E Dr Saeed Harib al Lamki, MoH’s Undersecretary for Health Affairs, and H E Dr Ahmed Salim al Mandhari, MoH’s Undersecretary for Planning and Health Regulation, focused on enhancing cooperation frameworks between Oman and the WHO.

Discussions included joint work priorities under the country cooperation strategy, aimed at achieving shared goals in health and development. Dr Hanan’s participation in the healthy cities conference underscores the importance of international collaboration in promoting health initiatives in Oman.