Nowon-gu Receives Creative Development Award from WHO Western Pacific Regional Office Healthy Cities Alliance (AFHC)

Achievements in Elderly Health Management Using AI and IoT During the COVID-19 Pandemic... Recognized for Creative Development, Leading to Korea Healthy City Award for 3 Consecutive Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) has been awarded the '2021 Western Pacific Healthy Cities Federation (AFHC) Healthy City Award' by the World Health Organization.

The Western Pacific Branch Healthy Cities Federation (AFHC) holds an international conference every two years to promote development and mutual exchange among member cities, selecting outstanding cases.

The 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) Senior Health Management Project,' which has been ongoing since the winter of 2019 when COVID-19 began, received an award in the creative development category.

Using smart devices connected to mobile phones, professional personnel such as visiting nurses, exercise specialists, and nutritionists monitor the health status of the subjects and provide customized health consultations. Since the winter of 2019 when COVID-19 started, a dedicated YouTube channel has been established to deliver health information to seniors more easily and conveniently.

After shifting the project direction to non-face-to-face services, the establishment of human and material systems for senior health management was highly evaluated, as participants showed increased blood pressure and blood sugar management, medication adherence, regular meals, and exercise frequency.

In addition, Nowon-gu is making various efforts to improve the health level of its residents and enhance health equity.

They enacted the Basic Ordinance on Healthy Cities, developed the 'Active Healthy City Nowon Model' through research projects, and promoted physical activity activation projects centered on walking.

Also, to carry out healthy city projects more systematically, Nowon-type Health Impact Assessment was introduced, and on the 11th of this month, a Healthy City Promotion Team consisting of 74 members from 7 departments held its inauguration ceremony.

These efforts have borne fruit, with Nowon-gu winning the Korea Healthy City Award for three consecutive years: in 2019 for 'Playful Schools, Healthy Schools Nowon HELP,' in 2020 for 'Nowon, Let's Walk and Be Healthy,' and in 2021 for 'Health in the COVID-19 Era, Finding the Answer in Walking.'

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “I am very pleased to receive the AFHC Healthy City Award following last month's Korea Healthy City Award,” and added, “We will continue to actively respond to changing environments and do our best to make Nowon a healthy place for everyone.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.