Health promotion activities in the city have been performed as part of the municipal sports department, run by the Israel Federation of Community Centers in Acre.

Health-promoting policy

• In December 2020, a health treaty was signed, focusing on making healthcare a top priority for the city, as well as reducing gaps. 
  The treaty was signed in the presence of the mayor and his deputies.
• Installation of new signage for the prevention of smoking in public places
• Policy for adding an hour of physical activity for children in schools as part of the “Zuzu” program for 5th and 6th grades 
• Policy to ensure healthy and safe food is served in municipal kindergartens, day-care centers, and afternoon day-care centers. Supervision is conducted by the community center

Improving the physical environment

• Regulation and signage of a walking path of 3.7 km. with two-sided signage, in Hebrew and in Arabic
• Regulation and signage of four municipal pétanque pitches for groups of people, aged 60 or older

Efsharibari in the community

• Following the COVID-19 crisis, we customized the activities and initiated three walking groups in three neighborhoods to promote physical activity in the neighborhood
• A second-year ongoing initiative of a sporting extracurricular activity in five welfare after-school facilities
• In the past year, for the first time in the city, a program has been conducted to promote a healthy lifestyle in five welfare after-school facilities in the city. The program included instruction for the childcare facility teams by a dietitian on the issue of promoting healthy nutrition; 45 minutes of physical activity with a sports instructor have been added for the children in the facilities, in cooperation with the Welfare Department and the Federation of Community Centers
• The instruction of child-care centre assistants in the child-care centre sponsored by the community centers has been performed by a dietitian based on the principles of healthy nutrition.

Promoting aquatic fitness: the Yamiyah club in Acre

Efsharibari in education

Health-promoting schools in 2019
Elementary schools: 13
High schools: 3

Link to the map of the health-promoting educational institutes

“Healthy Tuesday”, the program that makes Acre particularly proud

A program that has been going on for a second year. Once a week, on Tuesday, there is a free hour of physical activity for the city residents. The activity changes every week, and following COVID-19, we have organized smaller groups and now work through remote zoom training. As a result of the program, some of the residents indicate they have started exercising regularly. The physical activity, some of which has been conducted on the municipal promenade, has raised awareness among the residents about exercising; it has also contributed to their sense of belonging and made them feel that their wellbeing is important.

Publicity campaign and peak events

Due to COVID-19, which dominated 2020, no peak events have taken place. As an alternative, substantial work has been conducted on social media, along with smaller and limited events in the neighborhoods.
Towards “Walking Day”, a municipal campaign about the importance and benefits of walking has been produced; it included signage with useful information across the city as well as a call to take part in walking activities either alone or with family members.
We encouraged the residents to mark “Walking Day” by walking with their families or with a group and post it on Facebook. Family sports kits were drawn in a raffle. The number of participants in the activity was nearly 1,000.

Further reading

Efsharibari in the City: map of participating local authorities and companies (Hebrew)
Efsharibari in the City guide for local authorities (Hebrew)