Abu Dhabi, March 31, 2015: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, along with Lt. General H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, H.H. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, led the Lets Walk march at Abu Dhabi Corniche, organised by Healthy Children2021 campaign, an initiative of the National Program for Government Communication (NPGC).

Students from all over the UAE participated in the march, which aims to promote healthy lifestyle in the UAE society through community engagement activities involving children and their parents in different parts of the country.

Encouraging children to adopt an active lifestyle by participating in physical activities, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed said: Children health is the focus of the governments plansand we aim to support them in all areas considering that they are the main pillars of growth and development.Their contribution is vital to making the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021.

His Highness said it is the responsibility of everyone to promote healthy lifestyle practices, and the best time to instill this is at a young age. His Highness also called on all government and private sector entities to raise awareness in the community about the importance of adopting healthy behaviour.

The campaign, which was launched last January, will continue until mid-April. It includesa number of events and awareness activities such as Lets Run in which school students took part in these activities across the country. The Lets Walk event has witnessed the participation offamilies, youth and children to walk together across the UAE. As part of the event,informationon healthy lifestyle wasdistributed in an innovative manner at Abu Dhabi Corniche, Jumeirah BeachWalk, Al Barsha Pond Park, Al Khawaneejparkin Dubai, Al Majaz Waterfront in Sharjah, in addition toAl QawasimCorniche in Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman Corniche.

The national campaign Healthy Children 2021 is one of the main pillars of the National Program for Government Communication that is guided by the National Agenda and UAE Vision 2021. As a dedicated pillar to address the challenge of obesity among children in the UAE, the campaign aims to reduce obesity levels to 12% by 2021. It will foster efforts to promote healthy lifestyles in the UAE community, focusing on children as the cornerstone of the community.

Upcoming events of the national campaign are posted on social media platforms on Twitter, Instagram and Youtube: @npgc2021 or websites: www.healthychildren2021.ae and www.npgc2021.ae