WHO Healthy Cities Recognition Awards 2026 – Nominate your City!

Award description:

The Adapting and Mitigating Climate-Related Crises: Building Heat Resilience and Preventing Flood-Related Health Risks Award recognizes cities that have demonstrated leadership in protecting health of the residents from the growing impacts of extreme heat and flooding driven by climate change. 

As climate-related hazards intensify and increase in frequency, urban populations face increasing risks of heat-related illness, injury, waterborne disease outbreaks, and disruption to essential health services. Cities that respond effectively take a proactive, integrated, and equity-oriented approach to climate adaptation and mitigation, that recognizes the intersections of various vulnerabilities and risk factors such as age, socioeconomic status, informal work, outdoor work, slums/informal settlements, and people with underlying health conditions, to name a few. 

The Award celebrates cities in the Western Pacific Region that have implemented innovative, evidence-informed strategies to reduce health risks from heat stress and floods. Recognized cities may demonstrate how climate and health data, early warning systems, and risk assessments are translated into concrete actions. Strong initiatives also emphasize community engagement, cross-sector coordination, and preparedness of health systems to anticipate, respond to, and recover from heat stress and/or floods.

Award recipients show measurable improvements in health protection, service continuity, and community resilience. These cities exemplify how integrating climate adaptation and mitigation into urban health governance can save lives, reduce inequities, and strengthen resilience in the face of escalating climate shocks. 

Examples of eligible practices include:

• Implementing heat-health action plans with early warning systems, cooling strategies, and community awareness and behavior change interventions.
• Reducing flood-related health risks through resilient infrastructure, improved drainage, and protection of water and sanitation systems.
• Strengthening preparedness of health facilities to remain operational during heatwaves and floods.
• Using climate and health risk mapping to inform urban planning, emergency response, and targeted interventions.

Award description: 

The Age-Friendly Cities: Bridging Generations for a Healthier Tomorrow Award recognizes cities that take concrete, system-level action to enable people to age well in their communities, while strengthening intergenerational solidarity and reducing inequities in health, participation, and access to services.

More than 245 million people over the age of 65 live in the Western Pacific Region, with expectations for this number to double by 2050. The Regional Action Plan on healthy ageing (endorsed in 2020) encourages Member States to take early action to prepare for population ageing and to promote the active participation of older adults in society, emphasizing a whole-of-society approach. Particularly, cities that act early can protect and improve functional ability across the life course by shaping environments and systems health and social care, housing, transport, public spaces, and community services that support older people and benefit all residents.

This Award celebrates cities that move beyond standalone projects to transform systems: embedding age-friendly approaches into governance, planning, budgeting, and routine service delivery; coordinating across sectors (health, social welfare, urban planning, transport, education, labour, housing, disaster risk management); and meaningfully engaging communities in decision-making, implementation, and monitoring. 

Examples of eligible practices include:

• Creating intergenerational community hubs/initiatives (shared activities, volunteering, mentoring, childcare support) that reduce isolation and ageism, with outreach to underserved neighbourhoods.
• Embedding intergenerational priorities into city governance and budgeting (e.g., cross-sector committee + funded workplan) so initiatives are sustained beyond pilots.
• Delivering integrated health and social support that works for families and older persons together (navigation/referrals, caregiver support/respite, community-based prevention), prioritizing those at highest risk of exclusion.
• Designing shared, universally accessible spaces and mobility (parks, transport, housing/public facilities) that enable safe participation for children, adults, and older persons—including persons with disabilities.
• Tackling equity barriers that block intergenerational participation (affordability, disability access, digital exclusion) and monitoring results by subgroup/neighbourhood. 

Award description: 

The Communities Living in Vulnerable Situations: Advancing Health Equity through Community Engagement Award recognizes cities that have demonstrated outstanding meaningful community engagement as an approach to advance the health and well-being of communities living in vulnerable situations. 

Community engagement is essential for achieving Universal Health Coverage and health equity. Further, it is an effective tool to identify and meet the needs of vulnerable populations by shifting power to communities, providing tailored solutions to unique challenges, building trust through two-way communication, transparency, accountability, and collaboration, mobilizing community resources, and strengthening multisectoral partnerships. By understanding the unique needs and vulnerabilities of different groups and actively involving communities in decision-making processes, community engagement can help make public health programs more effective, increase community ownership over health outcomes and equity, address systemic barriers, and promote social justice.

The Award celebrates cities in the Western Pacific Region that have used community engagement as an approach to the design, implementation, and evaluation of health and social care initiatives that prioritize populations living in vulnerable situations. It recognizes efforts that empower communities to actively participate in shaping the policies and programs that affect them, fostering inclusive decision-making, and building resilient urban health and social systems. Cities honored with this Award demonstrate innovative strategies that reduce health inequities, strengthen local capacities, and create sustainable, people-centered solutions that improve well-being for all residents, particularly those most at risk of exclusion.

Populations living in vulnerable situations may include:

1. Migrants, refugees, stateless, or internally displaced people
2. Indigenous People or ethnic minorities
3. People living with disabilities
4. People who use drugs or are living with substance use disorders
5. People experiencing mental health conditions
6. Workers in informal or hazardous/dangerous employment
7. People affected by environmental hazards or climate crises
8. People with marginalized sexualities or gender identities
9. Survivors of gender-based violence
10. People living in slums, informal settlements, or who are unhoused
11. Children who are street connected or otherwise vulnerable
12. People living in closed settings (eg. correctional and detention facilities, psychiatric hospitals, orphanages or other residential care institutions, etc.) 

Examples of eligible practices include:

• Shifting power and decision making with community-led health planning and budgeting, such as through community advisory councils made up of migrants, Indigenous leaders, disability advocates, informal settlement representatives, youth groups, etc.
• Building trust with marginalized communities through peer outreach workers who provide referrals, education, and support access to services.
• Tailoring and co-designing solutions through workshops, focus groups, and ongoing feedback loops, such as working with disability rights organizations to creating disability-friendly clinics.
• Increasing community empowerment by co-designing harm reduction services with people who use substances.
• Protecting human rights partnering with civil society groups to improve prison health services.
• Fostering collaboration across sectors, such as by city health departments partnering with housing, water and sanitation, labour, and education sectors alongside community-based organizations as formal co-implementers to improve health and living conditions in informal settlements.

Award description: 

The Preventing Violence and Promoting Gender Equality: Transforming Urban Systems, Norms, and Spaces Award recognizes cities that have demonstrated outstanding efforts to prevent violence in urban settings to advance gender equality through practical, multisectoral, and innovative approaches.

Preventing violence is essential for creating safe, inclusive, and healthy urban environments. Women, girls, and gender minorities of all ages are disproportionately at risk of violence in public urban spaces due to social norms, unequal power dynamics, and design features that limit safety and mobility. Effective initiatives address these risks by transforming urban systems, policies, and spaces. Cities that excel in this area implement concrete actions, such as improving street lighting and public transport for safer mobility, creating gender-responsive urban planning, strengthening legal protections and reporting mechanisms for survivors, providing accessible services for survivors of violence, and conducting public awareness campaigns to challenge harmful gender norms.

The Award celebrates cities in the Western Pacific Region that have taken comprehensive approaches to reduce violence and promote gender equality. It recognizes efforts that transform urban systems, foster accountability, and create inclusive environments where everyone, particularly those most at risk, can live, work, learn, play, and age safely and equitably. Cities honored with this Award demonstrate measurable improvements in safety, access to services, and changes in social norms that support long-term gender equality. 

Examples of eligible practices include:

• Improving safe mobility through gender-responsive transport planning, such as safer bus stops, on-demand night transport, women-friendly public transport routes, and training public transport staff to prevent and respond to harassment.
• Conducting community-led safety audits through participatory mapping of unsafe public spaces with women and gender minorities to guide city improvements.
• Addressing harmful gender norms through public education, street theatre, community dialogues, and campaigns engaging men and boys on topics related to gender equality and non-violence.
• Improving urban infrastructure in public spaces by installing reflective street markings, mirrors, or solar lights in high-risk streets and alleys or creating safe walking routes through community watch groups.
• Ensuring safe and accessible public sanitation facilities, such as gender-segregated, well-lit, and lockable public toilets in markets, bus stations, parks, and informal settlements
• Embedding gender equality into urban planning and governance, such as requiring gender impact assessments in city development projects and including women’s and LGBTQ+ groups in planning decisions

Award description:

The Protecting Communities from Tobacco and Alcohol-Related Harms: Tackling Commercial Drivers of Risk Award recognizes cities that have made outstanding efforts to protect their community members, especially children and young people, from the harms of tobacco and alcohol by addressing their commercial drivers of risk. 

The tobacco and alcohol industries employ a range of tactics to shape environments that promote consumption of their products, including appealing product design and packaging; aggressive and targeted marketing, including through digital media and using social media influencers; pricing strategies that keep products affordable; high point-of-sale density to ensure easy availability; industry-sponsored voluntary initiatives such as “responsible drinking” or “responsible driving” campaigns; so-called “corporate social responsibility” activities; and lobbying efforts to delay, weaken, or undermine public health policies. 

Cities can counter these commercial drivers by adopting, implementing and enforcing comprehensive measures included in the “WHO NCD Best Buys” on tobacco and alcohol control, such as advertising, promotion, and sponsorship bans; smoke‑free and alcohol‑free public spaces; licensing and supply‑chain controls; rules and practices that prevent the tobacco and alcohol industries from influencing public policy, public spaces, or decision-making in ways that undermine public health; and initiatives that foster tobacco‑ and alcohol‑free norms, reshaping the physical and social environments that prioritize health over commercial interests. The Award celebrates cities that implement these interventions through multisectoral action and demonstrate measurable progress. 

Examples of eligible practices include:

• Reducing exposure to commercial drivers of unhealthy products, such as limiting tobacco and alcohol advertising, promotion, and sponsorship; restricting physical availability in public spaces; addressing affordability through excise taxes and pricing policies; and reducing industry influence on local policy and governance.
• Reducing tobacco and alcohol use, through multisectoral policies and community-based initiatives, thereby contributing to healthier populations, safer urban environments, and long-term improvements in public health.

Award description:

The Safe, Active, and Health-Enabling Transport: Reducing Inequities in Urban Mobility Award recognizes cities that have made a significant contribution to improving population health and equity by transforming urban mobility systems to be safer, more active, and more inclusive. The Award highlights city-level leadership in implementing policies, infrastructure, and urban design that prioritize sustainable solutions like walking, cycling, and public transport, while reducing road traffic injuries, air pollution, physical inactivity, and inequitable access to mobility. 

Transport systems are a major determinant of health in the Western Pacific Region. Road traffic injuries remain a leading cause of death and disability, while car-dependent urban design contributes to physical inactivity, air pollution, climate risks, and social exclusion. These impacts disproportionately affect low-income populations, older persons, persons with disabilities, and those living in peripheral or informal urban areas. Safe and active transport interventions are therefore essential to advance health equity, prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and support sustainable development. At the city level, transport and urban mobility policies can play a transformative role in enabling healthy, safe, and equitable movement. By reshaping transport systems to prioritize safety, physical activity, and equity, awarded cities demonstrate how urban mobility can serve as a powerful lever for healthier populations, more inclusive cities, and sustainable urban development. 

Examples of eligible practices include:

• Policies and investments that prioritize walking, cycling, and public transport over private motor vehicle use, including complete streets (roads designed to be safe and usable for everyone, not just cars) and transit-oriented development (concentrating housing, jobs, services, and amenities around high-quality public transport)
• Safe infrastructure for active transport, such as protected sidewalks, cycling lanes, safe crossings, traffic calming, and reduced speed limits, particularly around schools and residential areas
• Cities applying a Safe System approach implement measures such as speed management and traffic calming; safe crossings and school zones; continuous sidewalks and protected cycling lanes; enforcement of seat-belt and helmet use; drink-driving countermeasures; and data-driven enforcement and crash hotspot improvements to protect vulnerable road users and make walking, cycling, and public transport safe and accessible for all. Integration of road safety principles into urban planning, with a focus on protecting vulnerable road users
• Measures to improve accessibility and affordability of public transport, especially for low-income groups, older persons, children, and persons with disabilities
• Urban design that supports compact, mixed-use neighbourhoods, reducing travel distances and reliance on motorized transport
• Actions to reduce exposure to air pollution and noise, including low-emission zones and car-free or car-restricted areas
• Community engagement, behaviour change communication, and social norm interventions that encourage active and safe mobility
• Enforcement and public awareness aligned with infrastructure improvements
• Targeted strategies to address mobility inequities, ensuring underserved communities benefit from safe and health-enabling transport systems

Award description:
 
The Transforming Food Environments Award recognizes cities that have made a significant contribution to improving population nutrition and food safety by implementing food environment policies, good urban design to support healthy eating, and strategies to improve food safety practices and market access to foods that align with healthy diets.  Nutrition and food safety are closely interlinked and together are essential for achieving positive health outcomes from food systems. 

The double burden of malnutrition affects most countries in the Western Pacific Region, characterised by the coexistence of undernutrition, overweight and obesity, as well as diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This burden manifests at individual, household, and society levels, and its complications persist across the life-course. It is important to note that dietary risks and high body mass index are among the top 10 risk factors, contributing to the burden of diseases in the Region. Therefore, interventions promoting healthy diets are necessary to address the burden of malnutrition in all forms (SDG target 2.2) and prevent NCDs (SDG target 3.4).  

Access to safe and healthy food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Unsafe food contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances can cause more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoeal illnesses to cancers. In the Western Pacific Region, more than 50,000 people die every year from consuming unsafe food and another 125 million fall ill. Children under age five are disproportionately affected, accounting for nearly 30% of foodborne illness cases and an estimated 7,000 deaths annually. Diarrhoeal disease agents are the leading cause of foodborne illness, with norovirus, non-typhoidal Salmonella, and Campylobacter responsible for nearly 45% of all cases. However, aflatoxins contribute significantly to foodborne deaths in the Region. In this context, implementing food safety initiatives is expected to reduce the burden of foodborne disease while contributing to the SDGs, particularly SDG 2, SDG 3 and SDG 8. 

At the city level, nutrition and food safety strategies and policies could be in place to better support citizens in equitably accessing nutritious and safe foods. Good urban design promotes healthy food environments by shaping what food is available, accessible, affordable, and safe in daily life. Good urban design and supportive food environment policies that promote healthy diets and food safety practices will enable citizens to more easily make healthy and safe food choices.

Examples of eligible practices include:

• Policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing (including regulation of marketing that does not align with healthy diets across public spaces, public services, and city-controlled platform
• Interventions that promote availability and accessibility of healthy and safe foods in different settings such as schools, healthcare facilities, and workplaces
• Behaviour change communication and mass media campaigns for healthy diets (e.g. nudging interventions to automate healthy eating), and
• Protection, promotion, and support of optimal breastfeeding practices (e.g., local ordinances to support breastfeeding such as the establishment of breastfeeding areas, baby-friendly hospital initiatives, and/or implementation of the International Code to restrict formula milk marketing).
• Walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods, effective public transport, and well-planned zoning improve access to fresh and minimally processed foods while limiting the concentration of unhealthy food outlets, particularly around schools and residential areas.
• City initiatives or policies that support local markets and street vendors with safe, well-designed public spaces, while ensuring the implementation of food safety practices. These initiatives should integrate food access into everyday routes and promote environments where healthy and safe food choices are the easy, default option.
• Cities that promote equity by improving food access for low-income and underserved populations, contributing to healthier diets and reduced NCD risk.
• Food safety initiatives, such as monitoring of food hygiene practices, enforcement of food safety legislation, training programs for food handlers, public awareness campaigns to prevent foodborne diseases.

Award description:

The Data for Equity: Informing Action, Improving Health Award recognizes cities that have demonstrated excellence in harnessing data to identify health inequities and translate insights into concrete action.

Health inequities persist across urban populations due to differences in socioeconomic status, geography, gender, age, disability, migration status, and other social determinants of health. Cities that effectively address these inequities use qualitative and/or quantitative data to understand who is being left behind and why. Outstanding initiatives go beyond data collection to integrate evidence into decision-making, policy design, and service delivery. This includes strengthening health information systems, linking data across sectors, making relevant data accessible to residents and communities, using geospatial, real-time, and community-level data to target interventions, and ensuring data governance practices that are ethical, inclusive, and transparent.

The Award celebrates cities in the Western Pacific Region that have embedded evidence-informed equity-based approaches into urban health governance. Recognized cities demonstrate how data is used to guide prioritization of underserved populations, resource allocation, improve access to essential health services, monitor progress toward equity goals, and adapt interventions based on learning. These cities show measurable improvements in health outcomes and service coverage among underserved populations, while fostering a culture of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement. Through the strategic use of data, award recipients exemplify how evidence can drive equitable, sustainable, and people-centered urban health action. 

Examples of eligible practices include:

• Using disaggregated and neighbourhood-level data to identify populations and areas experiencing the greatest health inequities and prioritise targeted action.
• Applying geospatial analysis and real-time monitoring to improve access to health services, reduce environmental risks, and guide equitable resource allocation.
• Open-access risk maps to show where disasters, diseases, and injuries such as road traffic injuries occur across the city
• Using focus groups, in-depth interviews, or participatory workshops with underserved communities to understand barriers to accessing health services and incorporating these insights into intervention design.
• Making health, planning, or service delivery data accessible to residents through open data portals, dashboards, or mobile applications, enabling service users to track service availability, quality, or entitlements and strengthening accountability.