Sharjah Child Friendly Office envisions wholesome childcare
The consultative sessions are in line with the SCFO’S efforts to expand the scope of its ‘Sharjah Baby Friendly City’ Project
The Sharjah Child Friendly Office (SCFO) has organised a series of consultation sessions with entities accredited and registered with its Sharjah Baby Friendly Project, in line with its efforts to evaluate its progress, and explore ways to expand its scope.
The office conducted four consultation sessions, five meetings, and a series of field visits to Baby and Mother Friendly health facilities, nurseries, workplaces and public places.
Launched in 2011 and implemented under the supervision of SCFO, the ‘Sharjah Baby Friendly’ project aims to create a supportive environment for nursing mothers and foster a culture of breastfeeding in the emirate, through four accreditation initiatives: Baby-friendly Health Facilities, Mother-friendly Workplaces, Mother and Baby-friendly Public Places, and Breastfeeding-friendly Nurseries.
Consultative sessions and visits took place across various locations and cities within Sharjah and were held in the presence of Dr. Hessa Khalfan Al Gazal, Executive Director of SCFO, and SCFO officials, who met with over 312 officials, and childcare experts from accredited and registered institutions.
Dr. Al Gazal said: “The consultation sessions and field trips are part of our efforts to explore ways to develop more effective mechanisms to implement our project in collaboration with the entities which have received the project’s accreditation, with aims to expand the impact of the project and promote its vision to provide quality childcare and ensure family and community well-being.”
“The visits were undertaken with the aim of identifying key challenges faced by the accredited entities and to assess their training and capacity building to improve employees’ skills and competency, including workshops and specialised courses. We also discussed a series of proposals to develop the project further,” she added.
Previously known the Baby-friendly Emirate Campaign, the SBF Project was launched in 2011.
The project succeeded in introducing the concept of a ‘Baby Friendly City’ after the successful implementation of four initiatives: Baby-friendly Health Facilities (based on the global Baby-friendly Hospitals Initiative), Mother-friendly Workplaces, Mother and BabyFriendly Public Places, and BreastfeedingFriendly Nurseries.
These initiatives were implemented simultaneously across the emirate, for the first time in the world.
These efforts have led to Sharjah’s nomination as the world’s first Baby-friendly City in December 2015 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF.
The Sharjah Child Friendly Office aims to protect and elevate the rights and wellbeing of children of all ages in Sharjah. It creates relevant strategies and plans and implements them in cooperation with relevant institutions and government authorities. The office is currently tasked with overseeing the continuation and implementation of the Sharjah Baby-friendly Project (targeting age group 0-2), and the Sharjah Child Friendly City Project (targeting age group 0-18).
Separately, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima
Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, GWU, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, FDF, who is also the Honorary President of the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, has donated Dhs6 million to support this year’s Ataya (giving in Arabic) exhibition.
The charity exhibition is organised by the ERC at the Mubadala Arena, under the patronage of Sheikha Shamsa Bint Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Assistant to the Chairman of the ERC for Women’s Affairs and Head of the Higher Committee of the Ataya initiative, who is the wife of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the ERC. Sheikha Shamsa also donated Dhs2 million to the exhibition.
The proceeds this year’s exhibition, which will run until 5th March, will be allocated to treating children with congenital anomalies caused by the consequences of wars and conflicts, as well as genetic causes.