Damascus, (SANA) – Ministry of Health on Monday launched a national multi-sectoral strategy to promote health as part of a strategy aims at reducing risk factors, morbidity and mortalities resulting from not following healthy life styles.

 Minister of Health Rida Said stressed the important role of media and education in implementing the strategy and achieving its goals.

 He pointed to the essential role of NGOs in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the parties concerned to provide people with health services and programs to ensure healthy life free of diseases.

 "The strategy aims at providing a sustainable infrastructure to promote health and establish multi-sectoral alliances to support and develop this sector.

 It focuses on individuals' responsibility to protect their health and face risk factors gathered in unbalanced nutriment, lack of physical activity and smoking," he said.

 The Minister indicated to the priority of health programs within the Ministry's preventive policy starting from mother and child health protection and awareness programs to avoid diseases.

 For his part, Resident Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Syria Dr. Ibrahim Beit-el-Mal stressed the importance of health education and raising awareness among citizens on social health and disease control and prevention in order to reduce burdens on healthcare and medical centers.

 The strategy relies on seven essential points including providing information and database to identify priorities, make decisions, conduct studies and evaluation, using health, social and economic surveys of families to identify their life patterns and the risks threatening their health.

The strategy also focuses on developing mass response in multiple sectors based on spreading health awareness in all centers about regular physical exercises and balanced nutrition for keeping fit in addition to developing laws and legislations related to boosting the health sector.

Ministry of Health works on implementing strategic goals planned for the next five years in cooperation with the WHO, seventeen relevant ministries, NGOs and international organizations.

The Minister of Health, during his visit to 8th March Health Center in Damascus, indicated to the importance of cooperation between the employees at health centers and the local community to fight bad eating habits and negative behavior affecting health.

For his part, Head of the Health Centers Department at the Ministry al-Hajaj al-Sharaa said that the Ministry launched Monday the Support and Development Week.

He pointed out that the oh Health Center Week includes the implementation of various activities to improve health centers' atmosphere, in addition to carrying out meetings and seminars and distributing health education publications to consolidate the participation of the community in supporting health centers and introduce people with the services provided by these centers,. 

R. Raslan/ R. Milehm/ H. Sabbagh