Manila's suburb of Marikina has been cited by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of Asia's healthiest cities.
During the 1st Conference and General Assembly of the Alliance for Healthy Cities in Kuching, Malaysia, Marikina received recognition for promoting a healthy environment for children and for making the city safe through emergency preparedness planning.
The city was also cited for "best proposal for integrating diet and physical activity in urban planning," WHO said.
The WHO awardees received plaques of recognition and project support funds from $4,000-$10,000 to continue their work and promote the "Healthy Cities" approach through their innovations.
The rest of the city awardees are from Malaysia, Australia, Mongolia, Japan and Korea.
Mayors from 26 cities, as well as some 400 researchers, officials and city planners from the Pan-Pacific region attended the event that was held from October 12-14.
