Israel’s diabetes support body comes to the UAE

Dubai: Ashuja’an Association, an association in Israel that acts on behalf of Arab children and communities living with diabetes, has made a foray into the UAE for World Diabetes Month.

In light of the recent peace treaty between the UAE and Israel, Ashuja’an Association is extending support to diabetics of all ages, types and nationalities, across the Middle East and now the UAE.

It is believed there are 425 million people worldwide living with a chronic condition, including nearly one in five adults in the UAE. According to the International Diabetes by 2045 the world-wide numbers will rise to 629 million. Every eight seconds, someone around the world dies of diabetes and despite these staggering figures, the Type 2 diabetes that affects the majority of adults is preventable in nearly half of all cases.

According to the Dubai Health Authority, the UAE is currently ranked 10th highest in the world for prevalence of diabetes, with as much as 19 per cent of the UAE’s population suffering from the ‘silent pandemic’.

Ashuja’an Association aims to decrease the number of deaths in all countries it operates in by increasing awareness, supporting communities in their management of the disease and introducing initiatives and technology to help early diagnosis.

Shadi Kassis, CEO and founder of Ashuja’an Association, said: “In Israel, we already have a number of highly successful annual initiatives. We will be bringing all of them to the UAE. COVID-19 permitting.”