The “Healthy in Schools” initiative is a comprehensive initiative led by the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre to promote healthy nutrition, prevent childhood obesity and overweight, improve the food environment within schools, and raise health awareness among students, parents, and education-sector staff. The initiative is aligned with the World Health Organization’s recommendations on promoting health in schools, the UAE National Nutrition Strategy, as well as the approved school canteen requirements in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The initiative focuses on creating a supportive and healthy food environment in schools by ensuring the availability of healthy, balanced meals that meet nutritional standards, limiting foods and beverages high in sugar, fat, and salt, and encouraging the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products. It also adopts an integrated approach that combines health awareness and education with regulatory measures to support sustainable change and improve children’s dietary behaviours.

The initiative includes several key components, including the registration of schools and suppliers through a dedicated digital platform, as well as training for canteen operators, food suppliers, and school staff on healthy nutrition standards, healthy meal preparation, food labelling, portion control, and ingredient management. It also features interactive campaigns and activities designed for children, such as healthy meal challenges and simple educational activities that help reinforce nutrition concepts in an engaging and practical way.

The initiative has also strengthened collaboration among health, education, and regulatory authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, and Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, in addition to schools and food suppliers. This collaboration has resulted in the development of a sustainable and scalable model that supports improvements in the school food environment and promotes children’s long-term health.

The initiative has achieved several significant outcomes, including the registration and training of 266 schools, the delivery of more than 20 training and awareness workshops, and the development of a unified healthy food policy covering private schools, public schools, and charter schools. The initiative has also been implemented through more than 40 food suppliers. In addition, it has contributed to increasing nutrition awareness among students and strengthening community engagement in supporting healthy behaviours.

The “Healthy in Schools” initiative represents a practical, evidence-based model that can be adapted and scaled across different educational settings. It also demonstrates the value of multisectoral collaboration and the exchange of best practices in supporting regional efforts to prevent obesity and promote children’s health.