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Key Abu Dhabi partners join forces for #Walk2014 and Diabetes Awareness |
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Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC), was joined by Senior Executives from Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), National Health Insurance Company - Daman, and Yas Marina Circuit, who all united once again to put healthy living squarely at the top of the U.A.E. agenda in the lead up to #WALK2014. Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, the #WALK 2014 will be held on 7th November at Yas Marina Circuit, and is the U.A.E.’s longest running public health awareness initiative, organised by Imperial College London Diabetes Centre and supported by Daman. Also present was NBA legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In his ambassadorial role for Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, Abdul-Jabbar is lending his support to the on-going efforts to spread awareness of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and spotlighting the benefits of #WALK2014. He has already taken part in the social media campaign that supports ‘Take a Step for Diabetes’ by posting a ‘shoe-selfie’, and is in the U.A.E. all this week in the lead up to #WALK 2014. Now in its eighth year, #WALK 2014 is expected to see 20,000 people walking the F1 track at Yas Marina Circuit to support diabetes awareness. An array of new programmes are also being launched as part of #WALK 2014, including a ‘big-data’ initiative that will confidentially record the body mass index (BMI) data of willing participants, in a bid to actively track levels of activity and health in the community. Results will be published, in an effort to encourage the development of new community wellness programmes and activities. Also new this year is the introduction of ‘Health-X’, a community-oriented health and wellbeing forum aimed at facilitating better conversations and idea-sharing between healthcare practitioners who are keen to make a difference in community health. "The continued efforts to put healthier living at the top of the health agenda is something that we are very pleased to offer our wholehearted support to," said Professor Maha Barakat, Director-General of Health Authority Abu Dhabi. "Increasing awareness of such important health issues as regular exercise and proper nutrition is one of our core tenets at HAAD. One of our priorities is to increase awareness on diabetes and other life-threatening conditions and the means to prevent them." Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Healthcare, is a leading advocate of living healthy lifestyles, and organises the annual #WALK event as part of its award-winning Diabetes-Knowledge-Action public health awareness campaign. |
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