Sharjah: Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and founder and royal patron of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), was honoured with the prestigious ‘3G Global Good Governance’ Philanthropy Award.
Shaikha Jawaher, who is also the International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC, was given the award in recognition of her charitable work in the UAE’s social services sector and for her generous initiatives to reduce the burden of cancer and non-communicable diseases across the world. Taking place recently in Dubai, the awarding ceremony witnessed institutions and individuals from government and politics, corporate, social and philanthropy sectors from around the world.
Sawsan Jaafar, president of FoCP’s Board of Directors, received the award on behalf of Shaikh Jawaher. Jaafar also received the ‘3G Service Excellence Award for Social Sector and Philanthropy 2017’ for FoCP on the same evening. Jaafar praised the achievements of FoCP’s royal patron and her inspirational commitment to philanthropic endeavours. “Shaikha Jawaher has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those living with cancer and for their relatives and loved ones who stand beside them with unwavering commitment. This is the UAE’s Year of Giving and nothing exemplifies selfless generosity than the efforts of everyone involved in FoCP — an organisation headed with such dedication by Shaikha Jawaher. It was an honour to have received this award on her behalf,” said Jaafar.
Shaikha Jawaher’s commitment to fighting NCDs on a global level has seen the opening of the Sharjah Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London — Europe’s largest biomedical research centre — with the new facility inaugurated earlier this month.
The FoCP’s important role in the fight against lifestyle diseases witnessed Sharjah hosting the first-ever Global NCD Alliance Forum, which was presided by Shaikha Jawaher. The inaugural event was a benchmark for tackling lifestyle-related diseases in the Mena region, including cancer, and brought together 206 delegates from 173 advocate organisations and 43 national and regional NCD alliances. The emirate also launched the ‘Sharjah Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases towards 2030’, which was endorsed by 230 international experts. It will also host the Second Global Non-Communicable Disease Alliance Forum, which is scheduled to take place on December 9-11 this year.
On Tuesday, the FoCP launched the UAE ‘Relay for Life’ walkathon — a 24-hour walking challenge that is being held for the first time in the Mena region. Scheduled to take place on November 17-18 at American University of Sharjah, the inaugural activity has been conceived in support of cancer patients and their families in the UAE.
Since its inception in 1999, Friends of Cancer Patients has been delivering moral and financial support to more than 3,700 cancer patients and their families, irrespective of their nationality, gender, age, religion or ethnicity. This initiative was conceived by Shaikha Jawaher to address the rising incidence of cancer across the UAE and the wider world, create a cancer aware community in the emirates, and advocate for better measures to control cancer ensuring improved medical access for cancer patients.
In addition, the FoCP provides moral support to cancer patients through its ‘Colour my Life’ programme, and ‘Umrah’ which sees the organisation sponsor religious pilgrimages for patients and their families.
