Team Etisalat sets-off to raise diabetes awareness
ABU DHABI, September 3, 2015
A team of riders representing Etisalat Group, a leading telecoms operator in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has set-off today (September 3) from Brussels, Belgium to compete in the 2015 mHealth Grand Cycle Tour.
The gruelling 1,500km event will pass through three European countries, finishing 10 days later in Geneva, Switzerland.
The aim of the tour is to raise awareness about diabetes, while providing an ideal opportunity to test and further develop mobile health solutions (mHealth) which aims at improving the day-to-day life for diabetics, said a statement.
The members of Team Etisalat were selected from volunteers to participate in the event from across its international footprint.
The team comprises of 11 Etisalat employees from eight different nationalities, as well as a long-standing Etisalat customer, Nichola McDonald.
After setting off from Brussels, Stage 1 will end in Paris, France two days later. Part of Stage 1 will take in a stage of this year’s Tour de France 2015.
The Stage 2 will see the riders leave Paris, crossing the Vosges, France before ending in Belfort, France from where Stage 3 begins. During the final stage the riders will tackle a mountain profile stage in the Alps before finishing in Geneva on September 12.
Dr Ahmed Bin Ali, senior vice president - Corporate Communications, Etisalat Group, said: “Etisalat is proud to be supporting and participating in this year’s mHealth Grand Cycle Tour. It provides a global platform to promote issues surrounding diabetes; a condition which affects millions of people around the world.
"In addition, the tour is the ideal opportunity to provide the impetus which will enable further develop of the mobile technology that is playing an increasingly critical role in delivering healthcare solutions.”
Etisalat has equipped its riders with advanced vital performance monitoring tools integrated into their uniforms and through wearable devices, said the statement.
The devices will work using Etisalat’s award-winning Mobile Connect platform, providing real time critical data and analysis to riders and their coaches and medical practitioners, it said.
Nichola McDonald, a loyal Etisalat customer from Dubai, said: “I was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetes over 30 years ago, so am very keen to participate in the research that will be conducted which will contribute to the further development of Etisalat’s mHealth programme.
“I also wanted to show that a Type 1 Diabetic can be active and athletic, even without an insulin pump. I think it’s important to push the boundaries and explore our limitations, all the while contributing to further research that will makes Type 1s’ lives more manageable, and hopefully lead to a cure.”
Diabetes is a syndrome that affects 387 million people, or 8.3 per cent of the global population, according to last year's data.
Its growth has shown no sign of slowing, and the International Diabetes Federation has estimated that there will be close to 592 million people with the condition by 2035.
The impact of diabetes is felt particularly strongly in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region with one in ten adults in the region believed to be diabetic. - TradeArabia News Service
