Sharjah wins Unicef child friendly city award

The Sharjah Baby Friendly Project won the inaugural Unicef Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) Inspire Award in the category of Child Friendly Social Services at the first Global Child Friendly Cities Summit in Germany on Thursday.

The SBF Project was launched in 2011 following an Emiri decree by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. It was headed by Shaikha Budoor Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Baby Friendly Office (SBFO).

Shaikh Salem Bin Abdul Rahman Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ruler’s Office, received the award from Sebastian Lyon, Executive Director, Unicef France, on behalf of the SBF Project.

Previously known the Baby-Friendly Emirate Campaign, the SBF Project was launched under the theme ‘A Right Beginning for a Better Future’, with a view to establishing a healthy life for children. This was sought to be done by creating a supportive environment for nursing mothers in the emirate’s public places to foster a culture of breastfeeding due to its enormous health benefits for both mother and baby.

Four initiatives

The project has succeeded in introducing the concept of ‘child-friendly city’ after the implementation of four initiatives: Baby-Friendly Health Facilities, Mother-Friendly Workplaces, Mother and Baby-Friendly Public Places, and Breastfeeding-Friendly Nurseries.

These initiatives were implemented in compliance with the International BabyFriendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) standards for being ranked as baby-friendly. The campaign culminated with Sharjah being named the world’s first Baby-Friendly City in 2015 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef.

Dr Hessa Khalfan Al Gazal, Executive Director of SBFO said Sharjah deserved the honour for succeeding in raising breastfeeding rates to 57 per cent, exceeding WHO’s global target of 50 per cent by 2025.