Abdullah bin Zayed launches healthcare programme

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, has launched the healthcare programme for the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) within the UAE and abroad. Through the new programme, MoFA aims to provide the best healthcare services for its staff and make a qualitative leap in public health.

In a letter to the employees of the MoFA, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said, "This programme is in the context of implementing the UAE National Agenda in line with the UAE Vision 2021, and is aimed at adopting a healthy lifestyle that can reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart and artery diseases which caused the alarm to be sounded globally."

"Because you are our top priority, and because we believe that you are the cornerstone and driving force of development, I am adopting a health and physical fitness regimen at the ministry in collaboration with our strategic partners in order to help the UAE achieve a group of strategic goals and preserve its position in terms of global competitiveness, being the world's happiest people. This goal can be achieved through promoting health awareness of the employees to help them pursue the best healthy practices and curb harmful behaviour."

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah also expressed confidence that MoFA employees would spare no effort to participate in the programme and cooperate with the team leading the initiative to turn it into a success and use their power to achieve its goals, both locally and internationally.

He praised the MoFA employees inside and outside the UAE for their efforts, dedication and commitment to work in the service of the UAE and development in which they constitute a pillar.

He also urged the heads of the directorates to encourage their subordinates to take the necessary medical tests in due time.

Accompanied by Mohammed Mer Al Raisi, Undersecretary of MoFA and Mahash Saeed Al Hamili, Director of International Security Cooperation, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah launched the health drive by taking medical tests, including measuring blood pressure and weighing.

He also viewed the menu of healthy foods that are free from harmful fats.

The MoFA's healthcare programme is being carried out in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Company -Daman. The first phase of the programme will last for five days in which the MoFA employees will be undergoing medical tests to assess their health.

Following the preliminary results of the survey, a number of health initiatives for MoFA will be announced.

The MoFA healthcare programme is aimed at encouraging employees to pursue healthy and positive dietary habits and behaviour as part of a comprehensive lifestyle that also includes physical exercise, healthy sitting habits in offices, as well as learning how to overcome workload.

It will contribute towards creating an attractive environment for what is supportive of health through educational circulars, as well as increasing the productivity of employees, reducing the rate of sick leaves.

The programme is designed around four main baselines: Promoting health awareness and education, encouraging employees to follow healthy diets and practices, developing plans for employees to enable them to co-operate with the ministry's strategic partners, and encouraging them to increase their physical exercise through individual and collective activities.

Enrolling in the programme is mandatory for all MoFA employees covered by the Thiqa national health insurance plan.

The first phase includes screening for body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and blood sugar. All the results of the medical results will be treated as confidential.

In the second phase, the employees will take a regular full blood test to identify the prevalence and incidence rate of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among them.

Non-communicable diseases, also known as chronic diseases, persist for a long time and are not passed from person to person.

They are of long duration and generally slow progression. The four main types of non-communicable diseases are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.

According to the Global Status Report on non-communicable diseases 2014, released by the World Health Organisation, WHO, NCDs already disproportionately affect low and middle-income countries where nearly three quarters of NCD deaths – 28 million – occur.

Key facts about overweight and obesity from the WHO report: :: Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980.

:: In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 600 million were obese.

:: 39 percent of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, and 13 percent were obese.

:: Most of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.

:: 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2013.

:: Obesity is preventable.

Health data compiled from more than 190 countries show heart disease remains the No. 1 global cause of death with 17.3 million deaths each year, according to "Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2015 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association." That number is expected to rise to more than 23.6 million by 2030, the report found.

Globally, the overall prevalence of raised blood pressure in adults aged 25 and over was around 40% in 2008. The proportion of the world's population with high blood pressure, or uncontrolled hypertension, fell modestly between 1980 and 2008.

Also, globally 387 million people have diabetes.

Tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year. More than five million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600 000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. Unless urgent action is taken, the annual death toll could rise to more than eight million by 2030, WHO warned in an update in May 2015.

Raised cholesterol increases the risks of heart disease and stroke. Globally, a third of ischaemic heart disease is attributable to high cholesterol. Overall, raised cholesterol is estimated to cause 2.6 million deaths (4.5 percent of total) and 29.7 million disability adjusted life years (DALYS), or 2.0 percent of total DALYS.
Source: WAM