Your Health First Campaign hosts inaugural event in Souq Waqif

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) is to organize a community event at Souq Waqif at 9 p.m. on Friday 3 August, as part of the Your Health First campaign. The campaign is an initiative of WCMC-Q in association with the Supreme Council of Health and was launched in June by His Excellency Abdulla bin Khalid Al Qahtani, Minister of Public Health and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Health.

The campaign includes the participation of a number of strategic partners – Qatar Petroleum, Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd., Exxon Mobil, and Vodafone Qatar. WCMC-Q aims to directly contribute to Qatar National Vision 2030 and support the efforts outlined in the National Health Strategy 2011-2016.

Souk Waqif was chosen to host the event as the location is a popular destination for large numbers of Qatar’s residents, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan. The event will provide an opportunity for the  community to learn from the experts about healthy practices and lifestyle choices. Raising awareness on how to improve health is especially significant at this time of year as during the holy month of Ramadan, the sudden change in eating habits can have adverse effects on health and wellbeing.

The event will feature fun, light-hearted presentations from a number of local culture and football stars and will help ensure ‘Your Health First’ achieves its objective of sharing health information among the 10-25 year age group.

The event will also see the participation of Qatari comedian Mohammad Kamal. The popular celebrity will be presenting health information through a simple Question and Answer competition, giving the audience the opportunity to win a number of prizes, provided by Vodafone Qatar.

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One of Al Sadd football stars will also participate in the event, giving the public, particularly the youth, tips on how to maintain a healthy body through healthy behavior. The event will also provide the public with access to physicians from the faculty of WCMC-Q and the Supreme Council of Health, who will be available to answer questions. Dieticians will be on hand to assist the public in taking their first step towards healthy living.

Doha Ritz-Carlton Hotel is also showing their keen support of ‘Your Health First’ by providing entertainment for the children as part of ‘Garangaoo’, a mid-Ramadan celebration which is widely enjoyed in the Gulf. By organizing these various activities which include something of interest for every member of the Qatar community, WCMC-Q aims to spread health awareness and an understanding of how to prevent various diseases.

The Your Health First campaign is a five year initiative, timed to conclude with the completion of the National Health Strategy 2016. It consists of several stages, the first of which is based on introducing Qataris to issues related to public health, particularly healthy practices and the importance of physical activity and diet. Subsequent stages will address a number of health and medical issues such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, mental health and the health of women and children, bone diseases, rheumatism, anxiety, sleep disorders, as well as the benefits of vitamins, cancer, and healthy eating habits by children, young people and adults.

WCMC-Q has produced for the campaign a TV health awareness program, which is being aired on Qatar Television at 1 p.m. every day during Ramadan, as well as daily health tips via Qatar Radio and Sout Al Khaleej. Using such a diverse range of media technology, including social networks, will ensure the campaign reaches the largest possible audience, especially the 10-25 year age group.