People of all ages and abilities are walking, jogging, dancing their way towards healthier lives everywhere, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, inviting everyone — as the football World Cup gets under way, hosted by Qatar — to participate in the Health for All Challenge to reach the "triple billion" goals by next year. On Saturday, people all around the world are "Walking the Talk" to reach the goals: one billion more people benefitting from universal health coverage, a billion more from health emergency protection, and another billion enjoying better health and wellbeing. To celebrate the importance of health and wellbeing, WHO and the Qatar Public Health Ministry, in partnership with international football authority FIFA, and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, are inviting people around the planet to join in person and remotely, the Walk the Talk: Health for All Challenge. Continuing the legacy of promoting physical activity and health for all, the series will, for the first time, be held in Doha, before it hosts the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on Monday. The event will serve as a key moment to gather safely, celebrate the importance of healthy lifestyles, and demonstrate the steps needed to ensure the delivery and legacy of healthy and safe mega sporting events. Open to people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, WHO maintained: "There is no better way to prepare for the Qatar World Cup 2022 than walking in solidarity for #Sport4Health!". While those participating in-person can chose between running or walking a three or five-kilometer route — beginning at the Pyramid/Qatar National Flag Al Bidda Park — others can join virtually by tracking their performances through a dedicated App, downloadable on Google Play and the Apple Store. "Take your (fully charged!) mobile phone and turn on your App", WHO urged, reminding that participants can challenge two others who have already completed the task on their own. By offering people of different abilities and ages everywhere, the chance for happier, healthier, and more productive lives, WHO maintained that "sports and health go hand in hand". As such, the WHO Sports and Health Program was established to help people worldwide lead healthy lives by promoting participation in sports and working with the sports community to advance health for all. The overall objective of the Program is to accelerate progress on the third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which is to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing by implementing WHO's 13th General Program of Work for achieving universal health coverage. Through the Healthy 2022 World Cup project, WHO and Qatar have teamed up with FIFA to ensure that the world's biggest single sporting event, which runs from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18, will be healthy and safe. The project aims to ensure this by setting the event as an impactful, sustainable and lasting model that promotes the integration of health, security and wellbeing for future mega sport events. — UN News
