The UAE Ministry of Health has launched its joint campaign with BinSina Pharmacy against high risk ailments for the second successive year following the success of the maiden campaign last year.

In its first year, the campaign conducted 28,000 random blood tests, with many being alerted about high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and cholesterol, said a ministry statement.

The MoH has succeeded in developing effective prevention and treatment methods as well as effective systems for the support of persons with high risks of developing such diseases through such campaigns.

The extended initiative targets the UAE public, who are entitled to preventive health examinations by licensed and well-trained pharmacists at BinSina.

The UAE Minister of Health, Dr. Haneef Hassan Ali said: “The Ministry of Health greatly believes in reducing the dangers of lifestyle diseases in the UAE. This campaign has raised further awareness among large number of people and alerted them to serious illnesses which otherwise would have gone unnoticed for a long time.”

Dr Ali said, “Preventive health and health promotion have been given a higher priority in the UAE, which is dominated by social diseases such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.”

"Licensed pharmacists from BinSina Pharmacy were trained by experts from the ministry to do the tests and give advice accordingly," he added.

Ahmed Al Khayyat, managing director, Alphamed Group, the mother company of BinSina Pharmacy said: "This community outreach campaign will continue to intensify the preventive health care concept all over the country as it did in the previous year."

"We are delighted to announce that it is a world-class preventive initiative conducted jointly by MoH and our pharmacy chain to widen protection, health screening, public awareness, research and educational programmes," he said.

A crucial element of the joint campaign is to raise the level of awareness of preventive health care as the key measure to fight blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.

Al Khayyat added: 'In an age when many of these illnesses are becoming too common, the only way to combat them is through early detection and prevention. Therefore, preventive campaigns are critical to create health awareness among the members of the public. The UAE Ministry of Health has authorised BinSina Pharmacy to conduct these tests at its outlets spread all over the UAE.”

Al Khayyat added: “In order to maximise the benefits of this campaign which attracted a total of 28,000 blood tests in the previous year, we will continue to provide a reduced fee of Dh15 ($5) for the four consolidated check ups of blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol and obesity in an effort to benefit the maximum number of people.”

During last year’s campaign, more than 14 per cent were detected having diabetes and 18 per cent had high blood sugar, of which 4 per cent were not aware of their condition.

Further, it was found that 27 per cent had high cholesterol of 240 mg/dl, but only 15 per cent were aware of it, which means that 12 per cent had an alarming situation and had to see a doctor immediately. As for BMI (body mass index), 43 per cent were overweight with 25 - 29.9 BMI (kg/m2) and 25 per cent obese with a reading of 30- 39.9 BMI (kg/m2), he added.

BinSina Pharmacy has volunteered to give health examinations, assistance and advice on cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and obesity to all who visit its outlets.-TradeArabia News Service