SHARJAH: The Department of Health Promotion at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah announced the initiatives that will be organised during the Year of Zayed 2018. The announcement was made on Sunday during a press conference held at the headquarters of the Consultative Council of Sharjah.

In line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to mark 2018 as the Year of Zayed, a series of initiatives will be hosted by five health-promoting associations, namely: Friends for Diabetes Association, Friends of Kidney Patients Association, Breastfeeding Friends Association, Friends of Cancer Patients Association, and Friends of Arthritis Patients Association.

The press conference was attended by Khawla Al Mulla, Chairperson of the Sharjah Consultative Council (SCC), Iman Rashid Saif, Director of the Health Promotion Department, Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Jarwan, Assistant Director of Sharjah Medical District, and Mohammed Al Mashghouni, Head of Government Communications and Media at Sharjah Medical District as well as heads and board members of the associations.

The media briefing also saw the attendance of a number of the consultative council’s management and staff, representatives of partner institutions, volunteers and a number of local and Arab media representatives.

Saif stated that the department will seek to emphasise the original values of the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, which include care and support for members of the community.

Saif stated that due to the continuous support of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, the department has become a leader in maintaining public health, which has been achieved through the promotion of healthy practices among members of the community, and the support of patients that are unable to afford proper treatment, in addition to educating the public on the prevention of diseases.

Iman Turki, Head of Programmes at the Department of Health Promotion, reviewed the main programmes that will be organised by the department for the year. They include the “Sahbati” initiative aimed at spreading peer education and health awareness, and the “Employee Health” programme.

Khawla Al Haj, Head of the Friends for Diabetes Association, addressed the association’s main agenda during the “Year of Zayed,” which focuses on three major initiatives. One of the initiatives is the “The Blue Circle,” which organises free consultations, as well as awareness workshops and various entertaining events.

Mona Al-Hawai, a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Kidney Patients Association, stated the Association’s initiatives for the current year. The most important of these was the launch of a competition on social networking sites on the occasion of the International Day of Kidneys, as well as the production of an awareness film.

Waheeda Abdul Aziz, Head of the Friends of Arthritis Patients Association, discussed the association’s most important initiatives for the year, which include the Association’s 6th marathon that is organised under the slogan “Life is Movement”, and which aims to draw over five thousand participants.

Khawla Rashid, managing director of Friends of Cancer Patients Association, presented the main activities of the association in the “Year of Zayed”, which include “Sharjah Portage,” which is aimed at developing solutions to the therapeutic difficulties faced by children with cancer in developing countries, the “fun vehicle” initiative, and the “Global Colour” Initiative, which aims to enhance the confidence of women with cancer by focusing on the importance of both their external appearance and their internal health.