Dubai: The Ministry of Health and Prevention has announced the third phase completion of its ‘Heart Experts,’ initiative that trains students as awareness ambassadors for cardiovascular health at school and in their local community.
The pilot phase of the programme was completed at the Al Mawakeb School in Al Barsha, targeting 21 students aged 15 to 17 years.
The initiative comes under the ‘Operational Plan Initiatives’ to achieve the National Indicators for the reduction of mortality due to cardiovascular disease.
Dr Yousuf Al Serkal, assistant undersecretary for the hospitals sector of the ministry, and chairman of the executive committee of National Indicators of Cardiovascular Diseases and Cancer, said the third phase has successfully trained school students on how to promote heart-healthy lifestyles and identify the local and global magnitude of cardiovascular disease.
He added that the ministry has several national programmes that serve the national indicators of cardiovascular diseases, including the Critical Congenital Heart Disease screening programme for all newborns. A total of 5,877 students have been diagnosed since the launched of the programme in August 2018, with a compliance rate of 98.5 per cent.
