Riyadh: The Ministry of Public Health participated in the Health-Promoting Shopping Mall Project, one of the joint Gulf initiatives overseen by the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in coordination with the Gulf Health Council.
A team from the Ministry of Public Health, represented by the Health Promotion Department, took part in GCC evaluation teams that conducted field visits to a number of shopping malls across GCC countries. These visits were carried out in accordance with the project’s peer-review evaluation mechanism, which enhances transparency, promotes the exchange of expertise, and unifies standards among member states. Qatar also hosted evaluation teams from other GCC countries to evaluate participating local shopping malls, reaffirming the credibility and objectivity of the evaluation process and reflecting the spirit of Gulf cooperation.
Three shopping malls from Qatar participated in the project: Al Hazm Mall, Doha Festival City, and Mall of Qatar. All three underwent comprehensive evaluations based on the approved GCC criteria and achieved the “Diamond Level” classification, the highest level within the project categories. This distinction reflects their commitment to implementing best practices in health and safety and promoting healthy lifestyles within the shopping environment.
The General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council, represented by the Human and Environment Affairs Sector – Health Department, recently held a recognition ceremony in Riyadh to honor the Joint Committee for Healthy Cities and Health-Promoting Shopping Malls in appreciation of the efforts made in implementing the project.
During 2025, a total of 18 field evaluations were conducted across the six GCC countries, led by six specialized teams comprising 24 accredited evaluators from the Ministries of Health of the member states. The evaluations focused on compliance with the approved GCC criteria, which include healthy lifestyles, community partnerships, health awareness, hygiene and environment, security and safety, and quality of community services.
This achievement reflects the Ministry of Public Health’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with the private sector to implement preventive health policies and improve quality of life, in line with GCC directions toward building health-supportive cities and communities. The project’s success in Qatar also represents a practical model of integration between health policies and urban and economic development.
The Ministry of Public Health continues its efforts to expand the implementation of the project by encouraging more shopping malls to join, contributing to the promotion of a culture of health within the community and transforming shopping environments into spaces that sustainably encourage healthy behaviors, strengthening public health principles, and creating supportive environments.
