As part of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy's (SC) nutritional programme, executed in partnership with Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), more than 1,000 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ construction workers attended an educational activation session at Al Khor Sports Park.

The event was part of Phase Two of the nutritional programme, launched last year by SC's Workers' Welfare Department and the renowned WCM-Q. It included health screenings as well as a wide variety of interactive activities, including light exercise, cricket and football matches, healthy cooking demonstrations and healthy takeaway meals.

The objective of the second part of the three-phased nutritional programme was to educate the workers – as well as their employers – about the benefits of healthy lifestyles and balanced diets. The activities follow the programme's first phase, during which detailed health checks were conducted for the same sample of workers. The assessment findings from Phase One formed the basis of a series of recommendations for the next two phases including training and awareness sessions.

SC Workers' Welfare Department Executive Director, Mahmoud Qutub, said the educational activation session had been a resounding success.

"The event at Al Khor Sports Park was a great example of reaching out to workers to talk about the importance of nutrition," he said. "We have worked hard since the launch of this programme to educate workers about eating properly and the benefits a healthy lifestyle can bring. It was a great opportunity for workers to hear a bit more about food preparation and intake, and the impact it can have on their health."

Qutub continued: "This event also illustrated that exercise and diet go hand in hand. The workers took advantage of the facilities to play cricket and football in between the awareness sessions. It was a great day and we will continue with this level of outreach to keep demonstrating the benefits of a healthy lifestyle."

The communications plan for the programme involves being in direct contact with the workers through text messages. For this to be successful, Ooredoo and WCM-Q have created a database which Ooredoo use to distributed sim cards and phone credit at the event, allowing information and advice about health to be sent directly to the workers.

WCM-Q Professor of Medicine and Assistant Dean for Clinical Investigations Dr. Shahrad Taheri expressed happiness about the outcome of the event. "It raised awareness around the importance of a good diet and healthy lifestyle. We used the day to carry out further health checks and track progress and improvements to workers' health since Phase One. We also demonstrated some of the food options that would make a big difference to their diet."

Dr. Taheri concluded: "Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience which was extremely satisfying. This was a great exercise that builds on the excellent work that has been delivered as a result of this initiative."

The health screenings of the first phase of the programme, carried out by WCM-Q's team of clinical researchers, monitored a wide variety of workers' health indicators such as blood pressure, blood glucose, kidney function, hydration, body mass index and respiratory parameters. In the final phase of the programme, WCM-Q will collaborate with contractors and catering suppliers to recommend revised nutritional food options for the workers within their worksites and accommodation.