Statement by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director at the Certification of Healthy Governorates in Bahrain

10 December 2025

His Excellency General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior

His Excellency Lieutenant General Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Health

Her Excellency Dr Jalila bint Al-Sayed Jawad Hassan, Minister of Health

His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Governor of the Southern Governorate

Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests,

It is with great pride that I announce the official designation of the Southern Governorate as a Healthy City by the World Health Organization-joining the Capital, Northern, and Muharraq Governorates, and completing the recognition of all governorates of the Kingdom of Bahrain under the WHO Healthy Cities Initiative.

The Healthy Cities Initiative aims to create urban environments that protect and promote the physical, mental, and social well-being of communities. This achievement reflects the commitment and hard work of the Government of Bahrain and the strong support of the Ministry of Health.

The journey began in 2018, when Umm Al-Hassam became the first city to achieve designation. Momentum continued in 2021, with Manama becoming the Region's first Healthy Capital, followed by the designations of A'ali and Busaiteen/Al-Sayah.

The programme was further strengthened when Bahrain expanded its vision to a whole-of-governorate approach. In 2023, under the leadership of His Excellency the Minister of Interior, the Capital Governorate signed a Letter of Collaboration to scale up the model-culminating in WHO certification in January 2025, followed by the Northern and Muharraq Governorates in August 2025.

Rigorous field assessments-conducted by the Ministry of Health, the WHO Country and Regional Offices, and the WHO Collaborating Centre in Riyadh-confirmed the readiness of the Southern Governorate, which demonstrated strong performance across nine core domains, including environmental health, education and literacy, intersectoral collaboration, community mobilization, and emergency preparedness.

Today's designation reflects the Kingdom's continued commitment to institutionalizing well-being across all levels of governance.

On behalf of WHO, I extend our sincere congratulations to the Kingdom of Bahrain for its leadership, innovation, and determination to place health and well-being at the heart of development.