Dubai Against Diabetes Program Achieves Guinness World Record.

Dubai Residents light up 11,022 bulbs, the largest circle for Diabetes, as part of ‘Stay Strong’ Campaign

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 December 2014: UAE residents, as part of the Stay Strong Campaign, set a Guinness World Record on the 25th of December at Burj Park, by lighting 11,022 bulbs, which represents the number of Stay Strong app downloads in the UAE.

Stay Strong app is part of the Dubai Against Diabetes program – a joint initiative undertaken by Dubai Health Authority (DHA), and implemented by Benchmark Middle East, a Healthcare communication agency.

The event highlighted the need for diabetes education and awareness. Speakers at the event included ‘Stay Strong’ campaign ambassadors: Abdulla Al Hashidi, an Emirati with diabetes, who gave attendees an inspirational story of how he has overcame obstacles while living with the disease. Other speakers included Raha Moharrak, the first and youngest Saudi woman to climb Mount Everest and Fayez Al Saed,  an Emirati singer.

Speaking about the campaign, Dr. Fathia Al Awadi, Chairperson, Dubai Diabetes Control and Combat Committee at Dubai Health Authority said the DHA is working a multiple levels to raise awareness about diabetes and its complications.  She also spoke about the stay strong app and said: “This initiative is part of the overall Dubai Against Diabetes initiative. The goals of the Dubai Against Diabetes initiative include: promoting better awareness about the causes and threats of diabetes, informing people about ways in which they can prevent and combat diabetes by adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and eventually achieving our target of reducing the prevalence of diabetes in Dubai.”

She added DHA aims to achieve these goals by targeting undiagnosed, diagnosed and pre-diabetics through its awareness initiatives. She said: “Dubai Against Diabetes is a first-of-its-kind health education and national support program that encompasses all three important strands namely the physicians, the general public and the educators in Dubai.

The ‘Stay Strong campaign’ is an innovative mobile phone app, that provides UAE residents with an opportunity to show their support to the local diabetes community.”

Mohamed Hammad, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Benchmark Middle East, said: “We are extremely delighted and proud that we were able to bring 11,022 UAE residents together and we have set the Guinness World Record in support of the Dubai Against Diabetes program. It is time for everyone to unite against diabetes to try to prevent diabetes from spreading, and minimize its complications. We believe that we all need to communicate in an innovative way with the public to drive home the message.”

Sponsors and the media partner of the event included Johnson & Johnson, Merckserono, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk and Kcal Healthy fast food and Khaleej Times respectively.

For more information, visit www.dubaiagainstdiabetes.com or go to the App Store or Google Play to download the Stay Strong app. The app, which already sits within the top ten downloads in the UAE’s health and fitness rankings, can be downloaded for Apple and Android devices, and then shared with family and friends through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #StayStrongCircle.

Attendees of the event included: Dr. Abdelrahman Al Jasmi, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Hospital; Dr. Jamal Al Saleh; Acting Director, Dubai Hospital; Dr. Mouza Sharhan, President of Emirates Medical Association; Ghanim Abdullah Lootah, Director of the Department of Institutional Marketing and Communication at Dubai Health Authority; All the DHA Diabetes Combat and Control Committee members; Guinness World Records representatives;  representatives from Life Scan, Johnson and Johnson’s; Merck Serono Novo Nordisk and Astrazeneca.

For further information, please contact:

Mahmoud Al Ali
Head of Media
Dubai Health Authority
myalali@dha.gov.ae

+9714 219 7260

Kamakshi Gupta
Communications Analyst- Media Dept.
Dubai Health Authority
Klgupta@dha.gov.ae

+9714 2197455