JEDDAH: The Jeddah “Stop TB” group has joined hands with the Healthy City group to spread awareness among the youth about keeping their city clean and staying healthy in the face of tuberculosis and other chronic diseases. In the coming months the Healthy City group, in cooperation with Stop TB, under the patronage of the ministries of Health, Interior, Environment and the World Health Organization (WHO), will organize a campaign on health issues. Dr. Fahd F. Qumri, coordinator of the city health program in Jeddah, said the Healthy City campaign was started in 1999 to create awareness about health in two cities – Al-Bikriya and Al-Mandak. “It is still going on. We have already done our job in 24 cities. Jeddah is a big city and a challenge for us, so we started our program from the Fawaz district area and now it's going on to all the areas of Jeddah.” Mohammed Bakhriba, the founder and leader of the Stop TB group said he believes that everyone should contribute to social health. “We are sharing the same planet and breathing the same air. We believe that the public and private mix is a great base for a bright future. Stop TB is keen to share and learn from others, it is time to open our hands wide for all kinds of initiatives and projects that would sustain the community and the world.” Stop TB participated in a recent TB, HIV and Lung Disease conference in Berlin and shared their ideas about how to fight chronic disease. Bakhriba said that members of the WHO liked their work and suggested that they set up partnerships with other TB groups around the world. “We signed an agreement with the youth committees from the WHO to work in partnership with others to promote understanding about TB,” said Bakhriba.
