NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg
Philanthropies announced today that Tokyo is the newest city to join the
Partnership for Healthy Cities as part of a $12 million reinvestment to expand the number of
cities in the program from 54 to 70. The Partnership for Healthy
Cities is a global network of cities, each committed to achieving
one of 14 health interventions proven to save lives, such as
reducing sugary drink consumption, increasing seat-belt or helmet
use, or promoting active, safe mobility. Today's announcement
brings the total invested in the program to $20.5 million.
Launched in 2017, the Partnership for Healthy Cities—supported
by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the World Health Organization (WHO)
and Vital Strategies—provides cities with financial assistance and
technical advice from public health experts to implement their
chosen intervention to reduce noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) or
injuries. Tokyo is going to work
with the Partnership in the area of air quality monitoring.
NCDs—which include heart disease, cancer, diabetes, respiratory
diseases—and injuries such as road traffic crashes, together cause
an estimated 80% of global deaths each year. Although NCDs are
responsible for 67% of deaths in low- and middle-income countries,
and account for trillions in economic losses, they receive only 2%
of total development assistance for health.
Partnership cities have made important strides to build
healthier and safer environments. For example, Quito, Ecuador replaced junk food with healthy
options for 50% of public school students—expanding to 100% next
year. In Accra, Ghana, a series of
infrastructure changes at a major highway crossing with the highest
rate of road crashes and fatalities in the city led to a nearly 35%
reduction in serious injuries at the site.
Other new cities joining the Partnership as part of this
expansion are Abidjan, Cote
d'Ivoire; Athens, Greece;
Birmingham, UK; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Dakar, Senegal; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Hanoi, Vietnam; Harare, Zimbabwe; Helsinki, Finland; Hong Kong, China; Istanbul, Turkey; Kumasi, Ghana; Muscat,
Oman; Tunis, Tunisia; and
Vancouver, Canada.
"Today, cities are where the action is on issues from climate
change to health, and the people who lead them are more important
than ever," said Kelly Henning, head
of Bloomberg Philanthropies' public health programs. "Governor
Koike is one of those key leaders. She understands the power of
cities to not just make life-saving choices for people who live
there but to serve as a model for the rest of the world. I commend
Governor Koike on her leadership in improving the health of the
people of Tokyo."
"We are delighted to join this fast-growing network of 70 cities
around the world that are committed to the public health and better
lives of their citizens," said the Governor Koike. "We look forward
to collaborating with the Partnership for Healthy Cities to have
open dialog with member cities, share best practices and learn from
each other."
"Cities have the power and opportunity to take action to protect
people's health," said Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "WHO stands ready to
support this work, and we commend the governor of Tokyo and all cities working with the
Partnership for their commitment to preventing deaths from NCDs and
injuries."
"We recognize the commitment and early successes of our partner
cities as they work to ensure healthier and safer environments for
their residents, an outcome that will only grow as we expand the
global network," said José Luis
Castro, President and CEO of Vital Strategies. "Each city is
demonstrating that rapid progress against the world's leading
killers is possible, and each serve as a model for change at the
country and regional levels."
In addition to offering technical support to individual cities,
the Partnership also brings together cities at workshops to
exchange lessons and strategies.
The 54 cities from the first phase of the initiative are
Accra, Addis Ababa, Ahmedabad, Almaty, Amman, Bandung, Bangkok, Barcelona, Bengaluru, Bogotá, Boston, Buenos
Aires, Cali, Cape Town, Casablanca, Chicago, Dhaka, Fortaleza, Guadalajara, Ho Chi
Minh City, Jakarta,
Kampala, Kathmandu, Kigali, Kingston, Kuala
Lumpur, Kyiv, León,
Lima, London, Lusaka, Medellín, Melbourne, Mexico
City, Montevideo,
Montreal, Mumbai, Ouagadougou, Paris, Philadelphia, Phnom
Penh, Quezon City, Quito,
Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Santiago, Santo
Domingo, Sao Paulo,
Seoul, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Toronto, Ulaanbaatar and Yangon.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 510 cities and 129 countries
around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest
number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for
creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government
Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses
all of Michael R. Bloomberg's
giving, including his foundation and personal philanthropy as well
as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in
cities around the world. In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies
distributed $767 million. For more
information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us
on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
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SOURCE Bloomberg Philanthropies