HE Dr Hanif Hassan Ali, Health Minister of UAE, Marks World Diabetes Day in presence of officials

His Excellency Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim, UAE Minister of Health, today inaugurated the World Diabetes Day programmes in Dubai as part of the KnowDiabetes, a month-long campaign organized by ExHealth for the third successive year with the sponsorship of Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) and VLCC and supported by Dubai Healthcare City.

His Excellency Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim, UAE Minister of Health, today inaugurated the World Diabetes Day programmes in Dubai as part of the KnowDiabetes, a month-long campaign organized by ExHealth for the thirdsuccessive year with the sponsorship of Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) andVLCC and supported by Dubai Healthcare City.

The community health initiative is aimed at educating the people about varied aspects of the disease, including healthy diet, prevention and control of the disease.

People from various nationalities turned up at the Dubai Festival City wherea host of free educational and health screening programmes were conducted to mark the World Diabetes Day.

HE Health Minister Dr Hanif Hasan Ali was briefed about know diabetes event by Dr Prem Jagyasi, CEO-ExHealth, in presence of Mr. Yaqub Yousuf Hassan, Deputy CEO of Commercial Bank of Dubai.

Accompanied by officials and representatives of organizations involved withthe campaign, H.E Dr.Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim, went around the venue and was briefed about various activities.

After the opening ceremony, H.E Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim, said the Ministry of Health (MoH) has been working with Dubai Health Authority (DHA) to raise the awareness and education about the diabetes among the UAE nationals and residents across the country through a variety of programmes.

He said: “The participation of private sector is crucial in creating bettereducation about the risks of diabetes and monitoring of the disease in thecountry. We do believe that the private sector organizations are ourstakeholders in the efforts towards the goal of achieving better results inthe diabetes campaign. The partnership of organizations like the CommercialBank of Dubai in campaigns like Know Diabetes is a good example of how thejoint efforts should be.”

In addition to taking up blood sugar test, the minister also saw fitness training in addition to a healthy food demonstration.

This year’s programme is expected to overtake last year’s event during which about 25,000 health checks were successfully conducted taking into accountthe heightened interest among the people in knowing about the diabetes.

The Know Diabetes 2010 has three main components that have been designed toreach as many people as possible across the emirate, with the first being amall-based program of activities at Dubai Festival City. The aim of thisaspect of the program is to enlighten families about the diabetes throughentertainment and educational activities.

Te second takes the form of a corporate wellness drive at workplaces andinstitutions around Dubai offering health screening, advice and counselling. This year, a specially commissioned Know Diabetes vehicle took the corporateaspect directly to employees – an initiative that has been endorsed by Commercial Bank of Dubai, the main sponsor of Know Diabetes 2010.

The third component of the campaign is the Continuous Medical Education (CME) programme for doctors who will be conducted in Dubai and Abu Dhabithis month end or post-campaign.

“The high incidence of diabetes found in the UAE can have significantr epercussions, both at the social level and the economic level, so we arevery pleased to support this campaign for the second consecutive year,” saidMr. Peter Baltussen, CEO of Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD).

“We are happy that the campaign is reaching out to wider number of peopleand helping the authorities in creating effective awareness about the diabetes. Our association with this campaign comes with a strong sense ofcorporate social responsibility.”

“Most people in the UAE are now aware that diabetes is a significant problem for the country because of the important work that the government and health authorities do to inform people here,” said Dr. Prem Jagyasi, Managing Director and CEO of ExHealth.

“However, we should never become complacent about the issue. The UAE still has the second highest incidence of diabetes in the world and this is astatistic we would certainly like to be responsible for changing. Hence itis extremely important that individuals and corporate supports governmentsinitiative to tackle diabetes” he added.

The World Diabetes Day theme for the period 2009-2013 is diabetes educationand prevention, with the campaign slogan for this year being ‘Let’s takecontrol of diabetes… now.’ World Diabetes Day is the primary global focusdate for the condition and Know Diabetes 2010 is participating with an extensive program of activities that has been designed for all ages.

On offer at Dubai Festival City was a free nutritional consultation and dietadvice from VLCC experts, exercise shows from Fitness First, along withhealthy cooking demonstrations from cookery experts. Younger members of thefamily were well catered for with face-painting stations, magic shows,balloon bending and a treasure hunt, with the overall emphasis being on the imparting of knowledge to inculcate good habits.

Know Diabetes forms part of a portfolio of annual initiatives organized byExHealth; an organization which specializes in health promotion campaigns,as well as provides services for the UAE’s healthcare industry. Thecompany’s public awareness initiatives are supported by the healthauthorities and include the No Tobacco Campaign, Summer Wellness, AhlanRamadan and World Heart Day.

Published on 14th November 2010

http://knowdiabetes.exhealth.com

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