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Write on health and win from WHO

The 60-word limit is to mark WHO’s celebration of the 60^th session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, which will be held in Oman between October 27 and 30, the world health body said in a release.

The top five, original creative narratives will win a prize of $200. The WHO said it would display the selected submissions during the RC meeting and use them in the WHO Regional Office website and in its advocacy materials.

The health body said it wanted to learn more about the public’s perception of health, given the changing demography of populations and the nature of disease, increased life expectancy and advances in health care since the original definition was formulated in 1948.

The WHO’s six-decade old definition is: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

The release said it wanted to find out what health meant to people — “or in other words, how do they define health.”

“The health of individuals is affected by a wide range of factors — individual characteristics and behaviours, the physical and social environment, income levels, events that impact our lives — and so WHO wants to learn more about the public’s perception of health given the changing demography of populations and the nature of disease, increased life expectancy and advances in health care since its original definition formulated in 1948,” read the release.

Participation is open to all and submissions from youth are particularly encouraged. The deadline for submissions is September 30.

The submissions are accepted in Arabic, English or French and can be sent to RC60contest@emro.who.int. The WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) comprises 22 countries with a population of 583 million people.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com