Sharjah, 6th April 2010 — The UAE celebrates on Wednesday the World Health Day which lines up various activities and events all over the UAE aimed at promoting health and encouraging members of the society to practice correct health and food behaviors, exercising and other healthy activities.
His Excellency Dr. Hanif Hassan, UAE Minister of Health, will attend the World Health Day activities that are organized by the Ministry in cooperation with relevant authorities in the emirate of Sharjah. The event begins at 5.00 p.m. with a march for 500 people to be gathered in front of Sharjah TV station until the health tent located at the main gate of Sharjah Cooperative Union in Helwan area.
The minister will also inaugurate an exhibition located inside the tent to raise the awareness of the society members with health issues for one week. This was stated by Dr. Mahmood Fikri, Executive Director for Health Policies at the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Fikri explained that the program aims to educate the members of the community to change the patterns of their daily lives imposed by urban expansion in which we live now and to clarify the most dangerous patterns such as fast foods, lack of physical activities, unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and alcohols.
He also added that the program is attended by a wide range of relevant authorities such as the police band, 200 students from Sharjah federal police, scouts from Sharjah University, Sharjah education zone as well as children and participants from Family Supreme Council and other members of the society.
The tent consists of 12 booths where Sharjah Medical Zone will provide free of charge tests and consultations of abnormal rates and ways of adjusting the appropriate level measurements, blood sugar standards, blood pressure rates, cholesterol rate, body mass rate, CO-COHB percentages for smokers and non smokers.
Meanwhile, the health activities section at the Ministry of Education will provide free of charge tests as well as weight body mass consultations in addition to a range of fitness equipments. The nutrition department at Sharjah Ladies Club will also give advices on healthy food, awareness campaign to the union’s visitors on ways of selecting healthy shopping, monitoring shopping patterns at the union’s gate for the purpose of selecting the best 3 healthy shoppers.
Other relevant authorities are involved in several activities to promote the understandings of healthy practices such as: Family Supreme Council, Friends of Cancer Disease Club, Friends of Arthritis Disease Association, college of Medicine at Sharjah University, Nursing Institute at Sharjah, Sharjah Municipality, Diabetes National Awareness Committee, UNICEF “obesity awareness risk report among school students” and Rashid Center for the treatment of diabetes and obesity.
The Ministry of Health will organize an honoring ceremony for the participants on 14th April in Radisson Sas, Sharjah, to honor the organizations and members who participated in the event and distribute awards to the health competition winners.