Tokyo Joins Bloomberg Philanthropies' Partnership for Healthy Cities

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.

SOURCE Bloomberg Philanthropies

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