Friends for Diabetes Association launches awareness programme in Sharjah schools
The Friends for Diabetes Association, one of the health-promoting organisations under the Health Education Department of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, unveiled details of its awareness initiative titled "Sugar Sweet and Bitter." The new initiative, which aims to promote diabetes awareness among school children in Sharjah, runs from 22nd January to 6th February.
The initiative is being held in co-operation with the UAE Ministry of Education, Sharjah Education Council, Al Qasimi Hospital and the University of Sharjah. It will include several awareness lectures and workshops supervised by health educators, volunteers and awareness-raising experts.
The programme was announced at a press conference held at the premises of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah. Khawla Al Hajj, Head of Friends for Diabetes Association; Ahmed Ibrahim Al Tartoor, administration manager for Protection of Children’s Rights; Dr. Osama Al Lala from the Ministry of Education; Khamis Basheer from the Department of Statistics and Community Development and Professor Nabeel Sulaiman from the College of Medicine in University of Sharjah, as well as local media people and other dignitaries were present at the event.
"Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, the Friends for Diabetes Association works round the year on educating the community about this serious disease, spreading awareness about its symptoms, types, management, and prevention," Al Hajj said at the press conference.
"This stems from our recognition of the impact of diabetes on our society, especially as the statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Diabetes Federation show that one person dies every six seconds due to diabetes-related causes, totalling five million deaths in 2015 alone, in addition to 542,000 children suffering from type1 diabetes all over the world," she said.
"In line with our awareness mission and commitment to promoting children’s health and safety, we have been focussing our efforts on schoolchildren since the beginning. We have carried out several awareness-raising campaigns during morning assemblies and gym classes. We have also conducted a number of tests and performed educational plays targeting students suffering from diabetes and others in order to promote healthy lifestyle and protect them from this disease," she added.
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