Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed 15,000 people benefitted from the Diabetes Awareness Campaign in 2013.

Award ceremony held for participating organizations.

Awareness campaign included students from 30 schools within HRH Princess Haya's Initiative for the Development of Health, Physical Education and School Sports.

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, November 14, 2013 : Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority,  Dubai Health Authority and Sanofi Gulf celebrated the successful completion of the diabetes screening campaign at the Rashid Library Medical Auditorium.

The celebration was attended by participating government institutions whose employees benefitted from the free diabetes screening and early detection programs that were held in 2013. The participants included Dubai Chambers, Dubai Police, Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Government Workshop, Dubai Civil Defense, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Taxi, Wassel company, National Media Council,  Department of Tourism and Commerce marketing, Department of Economic Development, The Executive Council and Dubai Public Prosecution.

The campaign targeted 30 schools to raise awareness about diabetes and the importance of a healthy diet through various activities including lectures, and sports activities, within HRH Princess Haya's initiative for the Development of Health, Physical Education and School Sports.

The Diabetes Awareness Campaign, which was initiated in 2009, with an aim to facilitate early detection and raise awareness about diabetes, has carried out screening programs every year across schools and employees from government institutions. In 2013, the campaign reached out to more than 15,000 people across 14 government entities. 

DHA and Sanofi expressed their appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and HRH Princess Haya Initiative for the Development of Health, Physical Education and School Sports for their continued support towards health awareness initiatives that are aimed to improve the lifestyle of community members.

Dr Ahmad bin Kalban, CEO of Hospital Services Sector at the DHA said: “Diabetes is one of the major challenges facing the UAE and the region. The MENA region has the highest prevalence of diabetes and lifestyle changes are a key component to tackle this issue. In 2013, this campaign took place consecutively for the fifth year and we decided that we should include school children as they need to be aware about diabetes and prevention methods from a young age. Diabetes is a lifestyle disease and therefore community education is a vital component to prevent new cases as well as to manage the existing ones so that people take charge of their health and avoid the several complications that are associated with this disease.”

He highlighted that early diagnosis can alert individuals of conditions such as pre-diabetes, which if unchecked can lead to diabetes. However, if detected early on, it can be reversed or even prolonged through regular exercise and a balanced diet.

Kalban said that the DHA has been working on a multi-disciplinary strategy to control this chronic condition and its complications. Training and educating primary healthcare professionals in diabetes management is an important part of this strategy.
 
Dr Mohamed Farghaly,  Acting Director of Health Affairs Department at  the DHA primary healthcare sector said that the campaign aims to raise awareness about the disease and its prevention methods. He said the DHA has joined hands with all relevant stakeholders and is working as per the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) map of 2012 to ensure UAE remains out of the list of top 10 countries in the world with highest prevalence of diabetes by ensuring that there is a decline in the number of new cases with diabetes.

He said “One of our efforts is to reduce to the maximum extent possible, new cases of diabetes and awareness about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle is a primary tool to achieve this.”

Ayman Mokhtar, General Manager at Sanofi Gulf said, “At Sanofi, the patients' needs are at the very core of everything we do. We work hard to provide education and support, which helps diabetic people and their family and friends better manage their condition. The prevalence of diabetes continues to remain high in the UAE. Therefore, there is a growing need for more awareness and better services. The objective of the campaign is to raise awareness on the importance of early screening and understand the benefits behind it.”

The campaign aims to raise awareness about the benefits of early detection.