Healthcare

Aster DM Healthcare, which set out to get individuals from across the globe to take a pledge towards good health through its My Health My Pledge initiative, has recorded over 190,000 pledges, an official attempt for setting a new Guinness World Record from the region. The campaign, which ran from mid December 2014 to February 2015, has wholeheartedly been accepted by all nationalities across the region in line with the pioneering initiatives under the groups Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

My Health My Pledge is a wellness initiative launched by Aster DM Healthcare through its different verticals including hospitals, clinics and pharmacies under the brands Aster, Medcare and Access. Aimed at improving health awareness within the community, the initiative has encouraged many to take a step towards better health by pledging to drink more water, walk and exercise regularly, quit tobacco and various such small steps that would yield incredible results.

Members of the community were advised to register their pledges with Aster DM Healthcare, either online or at any of its network units in the GCC. A total of 191,923 pledges have been recorded, from people representing all walks of life. These little changes if done in their daily routines and lifestyles would have a large impact on their health and wellbeing.

Commenting on the success of the initiative, Dr. Azad Moopen, Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, said: It gives us great pleasure to see the number of people who have welcomed this initiative, which practically created awareness among the public on preventing lifestyle diseases. Our aim was to give people a small nudge in the direction of good health, and it is overwhelming to see how many have been influenced by it. We are now convinced that people are willing to make changes in their lifestyle if encouraged by a trustworthy source. We are glad to be accepted as a model for positive changes.

Many of the pledges taken have been simple everyday actions that would be easy to carry out, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or consuming fresh foods over junk. We are hopeful that these pledges would transform into long term habits for people, leading to better health in the long run. My own pledge is to walk 30 minutes a day, five times a week. We can all make a big difference to our and our loved ones health by taking one small step at least in the right direction, he added.

Of the thousands of pledges registered, many have come from distinguished personalities including Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, Pakistani cricketers Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Sohail Tanvir; H.E. Engineer Essa Al Haj Al Maidoor, the then Director General of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), H.E. TP Seetharam, Indian Ambassador to the UAE; H.E. Grace Relucio-Princesa, Philippines Ambassador to the UAE; H.E. Edward Hobart, Consul General of the UK in Dubai, Mr. Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Vice Chairman of DP World; Indian film actors Ajay Devgan, Nana Patekar, Jayaram, Kapil Sharma, Vivek Oberoi, Ali Asgar and Arbaaz Khan, to name a few.

HE TP Seetharam, Indian Ambassador to the UAE has a pledge To drink more water than wine at diplomat gatherings, for a healthier lifestyle. HE Ms. Grace Relucio Princesa, Honorable Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the UAE, pledged to sleep early and wake up early and take rests in between, and drink more water, for a healthier lifestyle. HE Dr.Najibullah Mojadidi, Honorable Ambassador of Afghanistan to the UAE, pledged To eat the right food in right quantities, and exercise and try to stay away from junk food as much as possible for a Healthier life. HE Edward Hobart, HM Consul General, British Embassy, Dubai has pledged To exercise four times per week (gym, rugby, trainingx2), for a healthier lifestyle.

HE Engineer Essa Al Maidoor, the then Director General of Dubai Health Authority registered his pledge as I pledge to follow a lifestyle with sports, food and sleep and avoid stress and lead a healthy life, for a healthier lifestyle. Mr. Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Vice Chairman of DP World, took his pledge, which said, I pledge to workout daily an hour and eat healthy diet, for a healthier lifestyle.

Ms. Alisha Moopen, Director of Corporate Strategies at Aster DM Healthcare, said, We are thankful for the enthusiasm that people have shown towards making this campaign successful. As per the geographical statistics, the UAE registered the highest number of pledges with 87.25 %, followed by Qatar with 7.32 % and Oman standing at 5.3 %. Its heartening to know that Aster DM Healthcare is such an influential institution in peoples lives. This makes us evermore committed to the wellbeing of communities around us.

The top five statistics of which the highest numbers of pledges recorded were for walk more, gym, exercise at 20 percent; eat healthy and proper diet at 14 percent; less stress and worry, regular health checkups and sleep properly at 13 percent; drink more water and juices at 10 percent; stop smoking at seven percent; and the rest were for other pledges.

As part of the campaign, Aster also provided free medical check-up to many people, who registered a pledge and wanted to take corrective steps towards leading a healthy life.

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