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WCM-Q’s Your Health First campaign wins Qatar Sustainability Award

Nesreen Al-Rifai, Chief Communications Officer at WCM-Q, receives the award for the best University  Initiative from Eng. Ahmed Al Abdullah, QGBC Board Member, at the QGBC Sustainability Awards Ceremony.
Nesreen Al-Rifai, Chief Communications Officer at WCM-Q, receives the award for the best University Initiative from Eng. Ahmed Al Abdullah, QGBC Board Member, at the QGBC Sustainability Awards Ceremony.

Sahtak Awalan - Your Health First, WCM-Q’s flagship public health campaign, has won the Qatar Sustainability Award in the University Initiative category. 

The awards, run by Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), recognize organizations that have made outstanding contributions to sustainable initiatives in Qatar in the past year.

Your Health First, which was launched in 2012 to encourage and empower people in Qatar to adopt healthy lifestyles, is founded on principles of sustainability and respect for the environment. The innovative campaign runs a series of initiatives that directly engage the community of Qatar in activities that promote both sustainability and healthy behaviors, with a special focus on young people.

These initiatives include Project: Greenhouse, which has gifted greenhouses and seeds to 82 elementary schools across Qatar and is teaching thousands of children to grow and enjoy eating fresh, organic produce, and to appreciate where food comes from. The Yalla Natural initiative uses a traveling roadshow, free cooking demonstrations and free exercise sessions to promote the health benefits of eating organic, natural produce and exercising in simple, natural ways that do not require lots of equipment, such as walking, running, aerobics and yoga. In collaboration with AMLAK Services, a Qatar Foundation partner, Your Health First brought healthy menus to Qatar Foundation school canteens with the Your Healthy Canteen initiative, guided by the belief that the health of the nation’s youth is a key element of sustainability.

The University Initiative award was presented to Nesreen A-Rifai, Chief Communications Officer at WCM-Q, by Engineer Ahmed Al Abdullah, Board Member at QGBC. The Sustainability Awards Ceremony, held at Doha’s Hilton Hotel, formed part of QGBC’s Sustainability Week campaign. Ms. Al-Rifai said:

“We feel very honoured and grateful to receive this wonderful award, and to enjoy the support of Qatar Green Building Council. We believe that sustainability and good health are two sides of the same coin because we must respect both our own health and the health of the environment if we are to thrive. We are very happy that Your Health First is able to teach the children of Qatar that if we nurture our environment it will nurture us by providing clean air and fresh, healthy food to eat.”

Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCM-Q, said:

“We are very proud to receive this award from Qatar Green Building Council, which does truly amazing work to ensure the environment in Qatar promotes the health of all. Your Health First and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar are deeply committed to protecting and promoting the health of the community, and we believe respect for our environment forms a key part of this work.”