The Walkathon, held with the support of Dubai Municipality & Dubai Public Parks, was a huge success for the community and raised awareness on the prevalence of the condition in the UAE
28 March 2022, Dubai, UAE: Over the weekend, to raise awareness and support those with the condition, the Middle East Arthritis Foundation (MEAF) organized its signature nationwide event — the ‘2022 Walk of Arthritis’ Walkathon — on March 26, 2022.
The open public event, with support from Dubai Municipality & Dubai Public Parks, focused on removing the stigma associated with the debilitating condition. The Foundation was thrilled to conduct the walk this year under the theme ‘Let’s Beat Arthritis Together’ and saw hundreds of community members come out to support the noble cause.
Arthritis warriors, with their loved ones and supporters, walked 3.5 km at the Dubai Creek Park on Saturday morning. The spirit of the event was to raise awareness about arthritis and its misconceptions with expert knowledge from specialized doctors, as well as lend support to those with the ailment while absorbing some natural Vitamin D. Besides the walk, other fun-filled family-themed activities took place such as the fancy dress competition, warm-up sessions with Fitness First and groovy dance sessions with Dans Fitness Studio. To end the event on a relaxed note, Fitness First’s professional trainers hosted a cool-down session.
Commenting on the success of the 2022 Walk for Arthritis, Dr Humeira Badsha, Consultant Rheumatologist and Founding Member of MEAF, said, “The primary goal of the event was to spread knowledge on the auto-immune condition, which over 350 million people are diagnosed with globally and affects 1 in 5 people in the UAE itself, including kids. This walkathon is an essential event to create one strong voice of awareness dedicated to informing the community about arthritis symptoms to catch it at the right time as well as offering the right guidance and support. It was a pleasure to see such a great number of participants joining the MEAF community and supporting each other through the journey, where every individual has their own battle.”
Sanria Khan, an active member of MEAF and the lead organizer of the event commented, “People are often unaware and ignorant about bone health and any disease developing inside themselves, especially when it comes to children. It gave me immense joy to see such a heartfelt community coming together to raise awareness about arthritis and inform themselves on the condition. I am grateful to our partners and associates Pfizer, Lilly, AbbVie, Novartis, Sandoz and Newbridge, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Public Parks, Dans Studio and Fitness First, as well as students from various schools and universities who actively support the awareness campaign and uplift the warriors who fight arthritis every day.”
Besides the Walkathon, the Middle East Arthritis Foundation (MEAF) supports people of all ages living with arthritis and hosts various events across the year to support arthritis warriors and raise awareness
for the effective management and treatment of this chronic condition.
About Middle East Arthritis Foundation:
The Middle Emirates Arthritis Foundation (formerly Emirates Arthritis Foundation) is a non-profit organization that strives to breathe life into leading ideas on health, hope and happiness. Its goal is to improve the quality of life for people with arthritis through leadership training, in the prevention, control and cure of the disease. Founded in 2006, the Foundation has grown to support more than 2000 patients today across the UAE. MEAF conducts an extensive range of events and programmes to support arthritis patients. More information about the Foundation and its upcoming events is available at www.arthritis.ae.
