25 November 2025, Manama, Bahrain – The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a 2-day mission – 17–18 November 2025 – to Bahrain’s Southern Governorate as part of its evaluation as a healthy governorate.
The evaluation was conducted by the WHO Country Office in Bahrain, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and WHO Collaborating Centre (WHO-CC) for Healthy Cities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with support from the Ministry of Health.
The evaluating team meets with the Governor of Southern Governorate HE Shaikh Khalifa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Dr Samya Bahram. Photo credit: WHO Bahrain
The Healthy Cities initiative began to be implemented in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 1990, in response to growing urbanization and to support healthier, sustainable environments where people are able to live, work and thrive.
The initiative creates a framework in which health and well-being can be promoted in complex urban environments in a sustainable way. It encourages community innovation and multisectoral collaboration to improve health and well-being for all.
A healthy city strives to create an environment that cares for the physical, mental and social well-being of its inhabitants by placing equity, inclusion and sustainable development at the centre of local policies and programmes.
In 2018, Umm-Al-Hassam became the first municipality in Bahrain to be designated a Healthy City. In 2021, Manama became the first capital city in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to earn the Healthy City designation. In 2022, they were joined by Busaiteen in the Muharraq Governorate and A’ali in the Northern Governorate, bringing the total number of healthy cities in the country to 4.
Meeting student leaders at AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation. Photo credit: WHO Bahrain
In 2023, governorates decided to expand the initiative beyond municipalities. They initiated a whole-of-governorate approach, signing letters of declaration to expand the Healthy Cities initiative. To date, Capital, Northern and Muharraq governorates have undergone their final evaluations and received recognition. With the final evaluation of Southern Governorate, all areas in Bahrain will have undergone evaluation.
The Healthy Cities evaluation team visits Riffa Central Market. Photo credit: WHO Bahrain
As part of the evaluation, field visits were conducted to assess the 9 domains in the Eastern Mediterranean’s healthy cities criteria – community organization/mobilization for health development; intersectoral collaboration; availability of information; environmental health; health development; education and literacy; skill development and capacity building; microcredit activities and emergency preparedness and response. The domains were developed as a framework of 80 indicators to address the social determinants of health and align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Scaling up the Healthy Cities programme has been high on Bahrain's agenda and is in line with WHO’s 14th Programme of Work. Recognition as a healthy city is valid for 3 years.
Scaling up Bahrain’s healthy cities programme
WHO designates 2 additional cities in Bahrain as healthy cities
Healthy Cities initiative expands to governorates in Bahrain
