Healthcare | Friday 18 March, 2016 2:40 pm |

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, attended on Thursday the closing ceremony of the sixth annual Pink Caravan Ride, a pan-UAE awareness initiative by the Friends of Cancer Patients, which aims to spread awareness about breast cancer and the importance of its early detection. The 10-day horseback ride travelled 180 km across the seven emirates, screening 5,024 people.

St. Regis Hotel at Saadiyat Island hosted the closing ceremony, which was attended by HE Ameera BinKaram; President and founding member of FoCP and Chairperson of the Pink Caravan's Higher Steering Committee, Jassim Al Bloushi, Head of Organizational Excellence at Sharjah Islamic Bank, TV presenter and Pink Caravan Ambassador Amira Al Fadhl; heads of Pink Caravan Committees, Pink Caravan ambassadors, riders, medical teams and volunteers, Pink Caravan's partners and sponsors and media representatives.

Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak praised the continuous efforts of the royal patron of the Pink Caravan, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, for his vision that clearly exemplifies his eagerness to provide full healthcare to every citizen as an integral part of human development in the UAE.

He lauded the immense efforts of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC, Founder and Royal Patron of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), appreciating her wise vision for emphasizing the significance of the values of compassion and solidarity, care and attention to all Emirati citizens. 

In his speech during the press conference, Sheikh Nahyan said, "I am delighted to be with you today at this closing ceremony to celebrate the success of the Pink Caravan, which kicked off 10 days ago."

He added: "The Pink Caravan, with its important events and activities, exemplifies the UAE's goals of ensuring the quality of life to everyone-under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Our country provides its people with all the healthcare, prevention and treatment they need. The UAE leadership reaffirms on every occasion that this is the UAE’s first priority."

Sheikh Nahyan underlined the great support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

He also paid rich tributes to "The Mother of the Nation", Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union (GWU), Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, for her outstanding efforts and landmark initiatives as well as her rich contributions to the humanitarian work, and said: “We are all proud of Sheikha Fatima who was awarded the “Jawaher Medal of Honour” earlier this week in recognition of her efforts in the community development and philanthropic work."

"The pink caravan's role is not limited to raising awareness about the risks of breast cancer, but also includes implementation of important initiatives for the early detection of the disease, and providing free medical checkups throughout the country. This makes  the UAE a role model in dealing effectively with fighting diseases as breast cancer, through promoting awareness about its prevalence and encouraging breast cancer studies.", he added.

Sheikh Nahyan noted that global figures show that breast cancer affects young women, as well as men. However, he added that it is curable and treated if detected early, and the regular checkups and early detection ensures opportunities for success in most cases. 

He concluded by expressing is pride of the Pink Caravan's leading and significant roles in raising awareness about breast cancer, saying, "My presence here today confirms my confidence in your efforts, and the community's pride of what you are doing, making the UAE the forefront, with the world, in the treatment of breast cancer.

In her speech, HE Ameera BinKaram, said, "Prior to the kick off the Pink Caravan on March 07, the "Soldiers of Hope" pledged that they will be candles of light for the others. They are a group of young men and women who believe in the nobility of the Pink Caravan’s objectives and their humanitarian role towards their society.”

She added, “During the past 10 days of hard work and dedication by the Pink Caravan riders, doctors, volunteers, partners and supporters, we have seen many achievements and that could inspire us and illuminates our way.”

"Although the Higher Steering Committee of the Pink Caravan Ride has cancelled the third-day ride due to the heavy rains that blessed our country, ensuring the safety of the riders and the teams accompanying the Pink Caravan, the riders decided instead to visit the hospitals and medical centres, where they participated alongside the medical teams in conducting awareness workshops. Those are the soldiers of hope of whom we are proud- to those all our love and appreciation," BinKaram said.

She stressed that the Pink Caravan's battle with breast cancer is a sustainable fight, as long as this disease affects more women and leave negative impacts on the society.

"This year, we inaugurated the CareVan, the first state-of-the-art mobile mammography unit in the UAE, with the grace of the Ruler of Sharjah, the patron of the Pink Caravan. The CareVan mobile clinic offers free breast cancer tests along the year. The clinic is equipped with the latest technological devices in this field, thanks to the Sharjah Media Corporation for its generous donation, and Sharjah Islamic Bank for its continuous support,' BinKaram said. 

She expressed her profound thanks and appreciation to the "Mother of the Nation", Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union (GWU), Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, for welcoming the Pink Caravan Ride in Abu Dhabi. BinKaram praised . Sheikha Fatima's efforts and support, stating that it is an accolade and a motivation for the Pink Caravan to exert more efforts, spreading awareness and hope."  

BinKaram also thanked Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, for his supportive stand towards the Pink Caravan over the past six years, as well as his eagerness to attend the opening and the closing ceremony over the last years.  

Highlighting this year's achievements, BinKaram said that The Pink Caravan succeeded in traveling more than 180 km throughout the seven emirates. This brings the total distance done over the last six years to 1,420 km. The medical clinics offered free breast cancer screenings to 5,024 people, including 653 men and 4,371 women, cut down to 1,119 Emiratis and 3,905 expatriate. Mammogram screenings were conducted for 300 people, while 1,653 people were referred for mammogram screenings and 435 people were referred for ultrasound scans to ensure their safety. This brings the total number of screened people to 41,356 men and women of various nationalities and all ages. 

Speaking about challenges, BinKaram, said," Frankly, this is not an easy mission, and still a long way to go and difficulties still lie ahead in every sense of the word. We know that our way is rife with challenges that require patience and collaborative efforts to overcome them, and this is how we succeeded in every challenge during the past Pink Caravan rides. When Sheikha Jawaher tasked us with the launch of the Pink Caravan Ride in 2011, we responded immediately to her directives. It is no secret that we were scared at the beginning of the initiative as it has been and still is a big trust."

BinKaram added: "Despite all the difficulties that we been through, we decided to rise to the challenge and respond to this mandate. Among the major challenges that we faced was how to change and dispel community misconceptions surrounding breast cancer. This is why we were keen to intensify awareness campaigns that aim to promote awareness about breast cancer and the importance of its early detection during the first years of the Pink Caravan Ride."

BinKaram extended her profound thanks to Sharjah Media Corporation for their significant support, and Sharjah Islamic Bank, the official partner of the Pink Caravan.

She also thanked all "Soldiers of Pink Hope", including riders, medical team, volunteers, partners, sponsors and journalists, as well as all community segments for their hard work and dedication and support which have reflected positively on the Pink Caravan's outreach mission and enabled it to achieve positive results over the past six years.  

During the ceremony, a short documentary film was shown, featuring preparations of the launch of this year's ride, as well as achievements and milestones made by the Pink Caravan during this year and the past years. The film also highlighted the most important phases the Pink Caravan passed through during its journey of promoting and enhancing awareness about breast cancer and raising hope.

At the end of the ceremony, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan and Ameera BinKaran honourd strategic partners. Jassim Al Bloushi, Head of Organizational Excellence at Sharjah Islamic Bank received the bank's honour, Fayza Al Dhanhani of Sharjah Media Corporation received the corporation's honur, and Engy Shalhoub Pink Caravan ambassador received the golden donor honour.

On the last day of the ride, the riders started off from Abu Dhabi Corniche in the morning and arrived at St. Regis Resort, travelling 17 km. The mobile and fixed medical clinics continued to receive visitors from various nationalities who were keen to benefit from free breast cancer early detection examinations. 

The mobile clinic offering mammogram service at Health Point Hospital and the fixed medical clinic at the Union National Bank saw an impressive turnout by all members of society, who were keen to benefit from clinical medical examinations conducted by the Pink Caravan’s medical team, working in collaboration with the London-based Princess Grace Hospital.