Dr. Nura Arabi – Child Development & Health Promotion Specialist

Dr. Nura Arabi – Child Development & Health Promotion Specialist

When Nura was acquiring her Bachelors Degree in Health, she took on a few classes on health promotion, and she was mind blown by the work to be done on policy, planning, evaluation, and reaching communities.

Instead of seeing people when they get sick, why not help prevent problems before they happen? Based on this insight, Nura started volunteering in community health centers in Canada to develop her skills. Her experience showed her that the health promotion field is still working in a very traditional way, while our world is advancing fast and we need to catch up quickly.

Children are not getting as much attention; our lifestyle is changing in a way that is affecting our health negatively. We are not walking as much as before; we’re eating more processed and packaged foods and there is little time left for a good meal cooked at home.

To make sure we grow in a healthy community, we need to start from the base and that is our children. We need to raise children who can make healthy choices along the way as they grow.

“As I started to focus my work on children, I was shocked with reality. I had children faint in front of me at my work place due to malnourishment; children with dark circles under their eyes from staying up late, and children who are suffering from diseases that were once considered adult-only diseases. It’s scary, and something needs to be done about it”.

Nura started using media in all its forms to raise awareness as she focuses on children’s health and development. She was able to broadcast her own daily healthy tips for kids on the radio. Subsequently, she started writing articles about important topics regarding children’s health and tips for parents. As a result, Nura was classified as a change maker in the GCC region in the health field.

“Throughout my radio presence and my writings, I will keep raising awareness to change the world for children’s health one healthy tip at a time”.     

To know more about Dr. Nura, visit this link.