Sharjah24: A delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain visited the Elderly Care Home affiliated with the Sharjah Social Services Department (SSSD) to get acquainted with the experience of services it provides to the elderly. They also familiarized themselves with the experience of the Sharjah Age-Friendly Office, which is affiliated with the department.

The delegation included representatives from the Emirates Association for Retired Citizens, represented by its director Faraj Ismail, and the Emirates Friends of Senior Citizens Association, represented by its director Reem Salman. The Bahraini delegation was led by Sultan Al Ali, the director of the Dar Al Karama, and included Zahra Awad from the Rifaa Cultural Charity Association and Naima Abdul Karim Al Balushi from the Wisdom Retirees Association.

The delegation was accompanied by Sharifa Abdullah, the head of the Support Services Department at the home, who introduced them to various services, programs, and activities they receive, including social, religious, recreational, and healthcare services.

Aisha Hashem, the head of the Compliance and Conformity Department at the Sharjah Age-Friendly Office, acquainted the delegation with Sharjah's experience of joining the Age-Friendly Cities Network, which is affiliated with the World Health Organization. She stated that Sharjah is the only Arab member of the network since 2016. The network consists of a group of cities interested in the well-being of older adults from various countries, affirming that Sharjah joined the network after significant efforts, starting from implementing meetings about the Age-Friendly Cities program and its applicability. She emphasised that the emirate found that it had the foundations to join the network due to its unlimited care and support providing to older adults and the provision of many services, affirming that Sharjah's membership began in 2016, supporting the network's website with its experiences and efforts. Among the membership requirements is measuring the level of services provided to older adults and implementing the standards outlined in the Age-Friendly Cities Guide, which includes approximately 189 criteria distributed across eight dimensions: housing, transportation, community participation, social inclusion, communication, civic participation, community support, and health.

Aisha Hashem emphasized the importance of the visit as it strengthens relations between Arab countries and transfers some experiences to encourage other Arab countries to join the network and become members.