Dubai: Al Jalila Children’s Hospital marked World Asthma Day on May 1 by holding an awareness event for children and parents about the challenges of the condition.
The first dedicated children’s hospital in the UAE teamed up with Nickelodeon, the kids’ network, to surprise its young patients with some of the channel’s most popular characters such as Sponge Bob Square Pants, Dora the Explorer, and Shimmer and Shine. The characters distributed asthma leaflets to children and families, which contained valuable information about asthma and ways to deal with it.
The latest statistics show that around 600 million people around the world suffer from asthma.
“Asthma is a serious illness that mostly starts at early stages of childhood, and it’s very important that we tackle this issue and raise awareness among all families,” said Farhad Siddiq, director, Marketing and Communication at Al Jalila Children’s Hospital.
The initiative is also in line with Nickelodeon’s ‘Viacommunity Day’ global initiative, where Viacom International Media Networks offices and employees in cities around the world participate to give back to their communities.
