Sharjah 24 – WAM: The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHaP) has launched the National Campaign for Early Detection of Hypertension in collaboration with the International Society of Hypertension and campaign sponsors.

This year, the campaign is set to test 50,000 adults at various locations across the country during May and June, working alongside government and private health institutions, universities, Life Pharmacies, the Emirates Cardiac Society, Servier, and Omron.

Themed "Don't wait! Take part and be aware: Monitor Your Blood Pressure and Embrace a Confident, Healthy Life", the campaign aims to raise health awareness within the community about the importance of checking blood pressure, adopting healthy lifestyles, and understanding the factors contributing to hypertension and its complications.

It also aims to reduce the incidence of noncommunicable diseases, in line with the objectives of the sustainable development strategy.

Dr. Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Health Sector, Dr. Buthaina Abdullah bin Balila, Head of the Non-Communicable Disease Department at the Ministry; attended the launch ceremony held in Dubai. This is in addition to representatives from government and private health entities and universities.

Dr. Al Rand said that the national campaign will support the UAE’s plans aimed at combating noncommunicable diseases, and enhancing prevention as well as control of hypertension in line with the best international practices based on scientific research and evidence.

For her part, Dr. Buthaina emphasised that the national campaign will help promote public health and strengthen preventive and health commitments, adding that the ministry has already developed effective plans for managing preventive and community health programmes to enhance the quality of healthy life across the nation.

She added that the campaign will offer free blood pressure screening services, during which basic demographic and clinical information and blood pressure measurements will be collected by nurses, trained volunteers, and a network of pharmacies in the country.