By Joey Aguilar
The National Cancer Programme (NCP) has roped in Qatari “champions” to inspire and urge every resident in the country to be involved in the fight against cancer.
The initiative is in collaboration between the Supreme Council of Health, Hamad Medical Corporation and the Primary Health Care Corporation.
It also aims to reduce the stigma associated with the disease besides helping to reduce the number of cancer cases in Qatar.
“The idea is to just get the community talking about cancer. If they see influential figures saying the word cancer, they might be a little bit willing to receive the information,” Emma Walsh, programme manager, cancer prevention, awareness and early prevention, said yesterday.
“The unwillingness to receive information is one the problems they face when communicating about the disease especially to those who were diagnosed with cancer,” she explained.
The NCP recently launched two videos on YouTube and other social media sites for their cancer awareness campaign.
The first video titled “Qatar Against Cancer” introduces the first five champions who urge people in the community to “break the silence barrier” and be courageous in the fight against cancer in the country.
These include Dera al-Dosari ( media consultant for the Ministry of Youth and Sports and TV presenter), Buthaina al-Ansari (HR director of Ooredoo and founder and chairperson of Qatariat), Wedad al-Kuwari ( Qatari writer and screenwriter known for her popular Gulf drama series); and Hassan al Sai (a media personality, famous for hosting Qatar Radio’s Watani Al Habib and Qatar TV’s Al Dar.)
The five other champions featured in the second video titled I Pledge to Stand Up to Cancer are the famous Qatari singer Fahad al-Kubaisi; Katara’s active public relations director Malika al-Shuraim; iLoveQatar’s co-founder Khalifa Saleh al-Haroon (who is also head of Interactive & Innovation at Vodafone Qatar); the popular Qatari stand-up comedian Hamad al-Amari and fashion designer Fahad al-Obaidly.
In the video, the champions vow to do everything in their power to help Qatar in the battle against cancer, refute myths about the disease and to seek medical advice when needed. They also vow to spread hope and courage to people fighting cancer.
The two videos, which reached more than 330,000 views on YouTube since yesterday, will also be screened in cinemas in malls such as Villaggio, City Center Doha and the cinema complex at The Pearl-Qatar by the end of September and will run for three months.
“The next task is to utilise the champions’ social media to increase statistics. We will be asking them to continue to tweet about it,” said Walsh. “What we hope to do is to utilise the champions’ talents, current forums and further develop the cancer movement.”
In a press statement, Sheikh Dr Mohamed al-Thani, director of Public Health at SCH, thanked the cancer champions for their contribution to what he described as a noble initiative.
“This is an important moment for us, in which we officially start a nationwide movement to confront cancer in Qatar,” he stressed.
