Madinah, one of the holiest cities of Islam, has been listed among the healthiest cities of world by the World Health Organization (WHO).

With a population of more than 2 million, the city is the first to be recognized under the WHO’s healthy cities program.

The holy city won the accreditation after a visiting WHO team said that it met all the global standards required to be a healthy city, Arab News reported.

A total of 22 government, community, charity and volunteer agencies played their role to get the WHO accreditation.

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According to WHO, “a healthy city is one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and developing to their maximum potential.”

Muslims from around the world have expressed their happiness over the development on social media.

Madinah, the second holiest city of Islam, lies in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, nearly 280 miles north of the Holy City of Makkah.

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, or the Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the main attraction of Madinah. The center of the mosque hosts the Prophet’s tomb as well as the tombs of the caliphs Abu Bakr as-Saddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab.