Joint campaign straps schoolchildren to road safety, health in Dubai

Organised by DM Healthcare, in co-ordination with key government entities – DHA, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services (DCAS), Road and Transport Authority (RTA) and Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) – the Strap CSR campaign will run alongside the “Be Empathetic, Act Timely” (Beat) programme and quit tobacco (Stub it) programme. The second phase of the campaign aims to cover students of different schools across the UAE over the next five years. 

 

The campaign, in its second phase, will be carried out through “Dr Aster Mobile,” the first-of-its-kind mobile clinic introduced in the region by DM Healthcare to support community health and safety services. The mobile clinic provides awareness and offers free primary medical care, wherever needed. 

 

The mobile medical clinic will tour the UAE covering various educational institutes to promote road safety and extend free Basic Life Support (BLS) awareness. 

 

Taryam said, “The Strap and Beat campaigns both aim to tackle very important issues. Safety on the road, whether it concerns a driver or a pedestrian, is such a significant matter, yet many take it lightly.”

 

She added that via the mobile clinic, 65 campaigns were carried out in 2012 to screen people for diabetes and hypertension. In 2013, with the collaboration of DM Healthcare, 177 similar campaigns were carried out.

 

Essa Mohammed Al Ghafari, Acting CEO of DCAS said, “We believe every individual must have Basic Life Support knowledge to be ready and prepared for any emergency at any time. The first few minutes during an emergency situation are the most important in determining the fatality of it. By doing the right thing at the right time, one can help save a victim’s life.”

 

Engineer Hussein Mohammed Al Banna, Director of Traffic Department at RTA, said, “Road accidents are one of the major causes of deaths worldwide. These lives can be saved by just following the rules and staying alert and safe on the roads. Our aim is to eliminate or reduce this number by creating widespread awareness on safety measures among people.”

 

Strap is a public information programme, through which DM Healthcare intends to impart the message of road safety by raising awareness of risks and changing attitudes on the roads, thus trying to make the roads of the nation safer for all. 

 

This year the campaign will roll out to different schools all over the UAE to educate thousands of students about the importance of following road safety rules.

 

The launching event at Dubai Modern Education School witnessed an emergency mock drill, which demonstrated the rescue of an accident victim to teach students on how to respond quickly and take necessary safety measures to control such situations.

 

 

Awareness materials were released at the event. These included ‘Dr Aster’s Strap Health and Safety Handbook’ and video.