Hundreds of individuals from Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development gathered in Education City to celebrate World Health Day, a global initiative aimed at raising health awareness.

Qatar Foundation’s Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Directorate invited members of the public to attend the interactive seminar ‘HSSE-World Health Day 2014’, and undergo various health check-ups including blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar, retinal, oral and skin testing in addition to receiving dietary counselling. 

Sheikha Amal al-Thani, HSSE acting executive director, said: “Through such an initiative, Qatar Foundation aims to raise awareness about the serious health issues currently plaguing society, and discussing ways in which they can be treated, controlled and prevented, in line with the human and social pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030.”

Acknowledging the need to focus on specific diseases at such public events, Maryam al-Hamaq, a dietician at the Qatar Diabetes Association, said: “Our participation at the HSSE–World Health Day 2014 was part of an ongoing initiative aimed at raising awareness about the prevalence of diabetes here in Qatar, which is ranked among the top 10 countries in the world most affected by the disease.”

Qatar Biobank was also present at the public seminar and its managing director Dr Hadi Abderrahim said, “We are pleased to collaborate with Qatar Foundation as part of the World Health Day campaign. Like the World Health Organisation, we are committed to giving our communities stronger chances of preventing and treating diseases.”

In addition to having their blood sugar levels tested, visitors to the day-long event were given the opportunity to undergo comprehensive health assessments and gain invaluable advice about weight management.

On the importance of maintaining a healthy weight, Christelle Abi Rached, senior clinical dietician at the Diet Delights Nutrition Centre, said: “With summer fast approaching, people tend to pay more attention to their health and specifically their weight. Therefore, we wanted to offer attendees to the event useful tips about the basic principles of weight loss and maintaining a healthy body fat-to-muscle ratio.”

The HSSE Directorate at Qatar Foundation deals with all health aspects of its employees and students by adhering to the highest universal care standards outlined by the Supreme Council of Health in Qatar.