Pink Caravan sheds light on breast cancer awareness

Pink Caravan, the pan-UAE breast cancer awareness initiative, has been extended a special invitation to attend the prestigious 8th Global Conference on Health Promotion, co-organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of the Government of Finland, to share their expertise and insight on the importance of implementing health policies across all sectors. A special exhibition area has been allotted to Pink Caravan to highlight the work the initiative has done to advocate awareness and the importance of early detection in breast cancer in the UAE - a society where until recently a strong social stigma was associated with cancer. Now, however, the initiative has successfully dissipated many fears and myths surrounding cancer, advocating early detection and changing the country's outlook in a span of merely three years, directly benefitting over 20,000 patients to date. The theme of the conference is Health in All Policies (HiAP) and is being held from the 10th to 14th of June, in Helsinki, Finland. The conference aims to support member states in developing and strengthening policies and practices across sectors, taking into account the health implications of decisions and actions. The conference brings together about 800 participants from member state governments, some intergovernmental organisations and international NGOs as well as academic and research institutes. Pink Caravan's invitation to the conference followed an official visit to the Middle East by the World Health Organisation in 2012, as part of the WHO Healthy Cities Programme visit to Sharjah, as the city was nominated as a contender for this prestigious title, a long-term international development initiative that aims to place health high on the agendas of decision makers and promote comprehensive local strategies for health protection and sustainable development.