Majid Al Futtaim shopping malls will be offering complimentary heart health testing for women in the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman under its ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign.

Founded by the American Heart Association in 2004, ‘Go Red for Women’ has grown into a global campaign with more than 30 participating countries.

MAF brought it to the region for the first time in 2009 at City Centre, Deira. The campaign’s logo carries the message ‘This is not a red dress. It is a red alert,’ to raise awareness about the importance of prevention, early diagnosis, and control of cardiovascular disease amongst women.

In line with an ongoing commitment to sustainability and the communities it operates in, MAF will be launching its biggest health campaign aimed at helping women prevent cardiovascular diseases from next month.

The health campaign aims to raise awareness, combating the common myth that cardiovascular disease only affects men, said the company in a statement.

MAF is once again leading ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign in the Middle East, acting as the local partner in the region for this worldwide movement. In what is the biggest level of involvement to-date, 13 shopping malls across five nations will be offering preventative heart health testing for women region-wide, it added.

“Heart disease and stroke kill more women each year than cancer, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria combined.  At present, a huge percentage of women are aware that heart disease is the biggest culprit that causes deaths of women in the world, but only few believe it to be their biggest threat to life," said Dr Youssif Sarkal, the assistant undersecretary general of the Ministry of Health.

"‘Go Red for Women’ is a platform that could finally debunk the tightly-held myths out there that it is a man’s disease and educate women about heart health risks. We, at the UAE Ministry of Health are proud to collaborate with Majid Al Futtaim on this campaign within the United Arab Emirates,” he added.

Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, the senior director (Property Management – Shopping Malls) for MAF Properties said: "The central values focus on the needs and interests of communities in the region, providing the highest international standards for mall operations and sustainability, while offering the best of entertainment and leisure activities through our various mall concepts."

"An integral part of that commitment to communities involves ensuring their health and well-being.  We do that by inserting an educational and community engagement component into our strategies and initiatives throughout the year," he stated.

“In May, we are bringing the ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign to the region once again to ensure that women have access to preventative testing and professional health advice to prevent cardiovascular diseases,” Sharaf added.    

The participating malls in the UAE include City Centre at Sharjah, Ajman, Deira; Fujairah; Mirdif; Mall of the Emirates, and My City Centre (Nasseriya).

The key participants within the region include City Centre, Bahrain; City Centre, Muscat and  City Centre, Qurum in Oman, City Centre, Alexandria and City Centre, Maadi in Egypt, and City Centre, Beirut in Lebanon.

All shopping malls have allocated areas to host medical professionals who will administer complimentary testing and conduct checkups for women, which are the necessary preventative measures against cardiovascular diseases.

At each designated location, women can check their blood pressure, blood sugar, Body Mass Index (BMI) and cholesterol levels to determine if they are prone to heart diseases or if they already have a condition that needs to be treated.  

With the support of the American Heart Association, Majid Al Futtaim has partnered with local health organisations and non-profit associations in each market to drive forward the ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign:  Ministry of Health and City Centre Clinic in the UAE; King Hamad University Hospital in Bahrain; Oman Medical Specialty Board in Oman; American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Canadian Cardiac Care in Egypt.   

The following are the timings at MAF shopping malls across the UAE for testing and checkups:

•May 2 to 3 at City Centre, Mirdif (10 am to 7 pm)
•May 9 to 10 at Mall of the Emirates (10 am to 7 pm)
•May 16 to 17 at City Centre, Deira (10 am – 7 pm)
•May 23 to 24 at City Centre, Sharjah (Friday- 2 pm to 9 pm) and Saturday (10 am to 7 pm)
•May 28 at     City Centre, Fujairah (10 am – 7 pm)
•May 30 to 31 at City Centre, Ajman    (10 am – 7 pm)
•June 6 to 7 at My City Centre, Nasseriya (Friday 2 pm – 9 pm) and Saturday (10 am – 7 pm)

Majid Al Futtaim will also be conducting complimentary heart health testing across the region:

At Bahrain City Centre, the women can do their check up on May 16 to 17 from 10 am to 7 pm

At Oman, it can be done at City Centre, Muscat from May 23 to 24, while at City Centre, Qurum it will be from May 30 to 31.     

At Lebanon, it can be done at City Centre, Beirut from May 28 to 30.     

In Egypt, it can be done at City Centre, Maadi from June 19 to 20 and  at City Centre, Alexandria from June 21 to 22.

Omar Al Shunnar, the MD and clinical director, MAF– Healthcare, said the healthcare unit was launched to complement Majid Al Futtaim’s portfolio with the aim to address the pressing need for qualified and accessible healthcare in the region.

"With the recent opening of City Centre Clinic in Deira, we have the resources and expertise to join hands with the Ministry of Health, American Heart Association and MAF's shopping malls and roll out ‘Go Red for Women’ throughout the UAE," he stated.

"The campaign is aligned with our sustainability and long-term objectives to promote health and well-being through preventative health and early detection of serious health disease like cardiovascular disease," he added.-TradeArabia News Service