Ministry honours students, schools for winning best diabetes awareness poster design competition

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), in collaboration with the Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE), has recognised the outstanding efforts of schools and students who participated in the best diabetes awareness poster design competition.

The ceremony took place at the ministry's headquarters in Dubai and was attended by esteemed guests, including Dr Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Health Sector, and Dr Buthina Bin Belaila, Head of the Non-communicable Disease Department.

The competition, held under the theme "Together to prevent diabetes before it starts," aimed to showcase the creativity of talented students and utilise their skills to raise awareness about this prevalent health condition. The initiative also aimed to encourage school students to create impactful artistic performances that emphasise the importance of educating society about diabetes.

The competition received an overwhelming response, with approximately 250 entries submitted by students from various government schools across the country.

Expressing his gratitude, Dr Hussein Al Rand thanked the participating schools and students for their enthusiastic engagement with the initiative. He emphasized that the poster design competition for diabetes awareness is just one of the many ongoing initiatives aimed at promoting a proactive approach to addressing the disease and its prevention.

This reflects the ministry's commitment to enhancing health awareness, especially among children and youth.

Highlighting the progress made in combating diabetes, Dr Hussein Al Rand stated, "The UAE health authorities are exerting maximum efforts to develop preventive systems against diabetes, which is confirmed by indicators of a decrease in the prevalence of the disease in the country from 18.9% in 2010 to 11.8% in 2018."

For her part, Dr Buthina Bin Belaila said that the ministry pays utmost attention to improving the health of students through health programs and activities that support their physical and psychological development. She called upon all members of society to adopt a healthy lifestyle to bolster the UAE’s efforts in the fight against diabetes.

WAM