13.11.2009
4000 walk around Oasis Centre to 'Beat Diabetes'
4000 walk around Oasis Centre to 'Beat Diabetes'
More than four thousand people showed their support for the ‘Beat Diabetes’ awareness campaign by participating in a three kilometer walkathon around the Oasis Centre in the city of Dubai on 13 November 2009. ‘Beat Diabetes’ is a Landmark Group initiative aimed at increasing awareness and education on diabetes prevention and management.
The initiative was embraced by the public as well as the private sector and government. The Dubai Sports Council fully backed the initiative, and officials from Landmark lauded the phenomenal support from Health Authorities and other public service organizations, as well as associates & business partners- and with good reason.
Free Type 2 diabetes test centers were set up outside the Oasis Centre as part of the event. The tests were conducted by medical personnel from Rashid Hospital, with the assistance of more than 25 volunteers, and participants were given their results instantly. People with signs of susceptibility to diabetes were advised on how to seek further medical attention. The test center opened at 6:00 am on the morning of the 13th. By 10:00 am more than 2500 people had taken the test. Johnson & Johnson provided the blood glucose meters and testing strips.
Blue, the color adopted for Diabetes awareness, was the theme, as blue carpets and ornaments, as well as the World Diabetes Day Logo, adorned the walls of the centre. Oasis Centre was also illuminated in blue to align with the World Diabetes Day Monument Challenge. It stood tall next to over 1000 globally recognized monuments such as the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, the London Eye in the UK, and the Sears Tower in Chicago, USA and the Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt.
The walk coincided with the World Diabetes Day (Nov 14), the day Fredrick Banting, the man who discovered insulin, was born, an annual event started in 1991 by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Diabetes has been a plague to the region and to the UAE in particular. 75% of all deaths in the country last year resulted from conditions related to diabetes. The hospital and medication bill is hefty as well- treatment takes up over AED 0.5 billion of UAE’s healthcare budget. The UAE is known to have the second highest percentage population of diabetes in the world. About 19.5 per cent of the UAE population is suffering from the condition and 50 per cent of the people with Type 2 diabetes don’t know they have it. That is why ‘Beat Diabetes’ should continue and grow even further.
More than four thousand people showed their support for the ‘Beat Diabetes’ awareness campaign by participating in a three kilometer walkathon around the Oasis Centre in the city of Dubai on 13 November 2009. ‘Beat Diabetes’ is a Landmark Group initiative aimed at increasing awareness and education on diabetes prevention and management.
The initiative was embraced by the public as well as the private sector and government. The Dubai Sports Council fully backed the initiative, and officials from Landmark lauded the phenomenal support from Health Authorities and other public service organizations, as well as associates & business partners- and with good reason.
Free Type 2 diabetes test centers were set up outside the Oasis Centre as part of the event. The tests were conducted by medical personnel from Rashid Hospital, with the assistance of more than 25 volunteers, and participants were given their results instantly. People with signs of susceptibility to diabetes were advised on how to seek further medical attention. The test center opened at 6:00 am on the morning of the 13th. By 10:00 am more than 2500 people had taken the test. Johnson & Johnson provided the blood glucose meters and testing strips.
Blue, the color adopted for Diabetes awareness, was the theme, as blue carpets and ornaments, as well as the World Diabetes Day Logo, adorned the walls of the centre. Oasis Centre was also illuminated in blue to align with the World Diabetes Day Monument Challenge. It stood tall next to over 1000 globally recognized monuments such as the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, the London Eye in the UK, and the Sears Tower in Chicago, USA and the Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt.
The walk coincided with the World Diabetes Day (Nov 14), the day Fredrick Banting, the man who discovered insulin, was born, an annual event started in 1991 by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Diabetes has been a plague to the region and to the UAE in particular. 75% of all deaths in the country last year resulted from conditions related to diabetes. The hospital and medication bill is hefty as well- treatment takes up over AED 0.5 billion of UAE’s healthcare budget. The UAE is known to have the second highest percentage population of diabetes in the world. About 19.5 per cent of the UAE population is suffering from the condition and 50 per cent of the people with Type 2 diabetes don’t know they have it. That is why ‘Beat Diabetes’ should continue and grow even further.
