Press Release

 

Egypt, 26 May 2013 – As part of their ongoing commitment to Egypt's local community and to supporting the health and empowerment of Egyptian women, City Centre Maadi and Alexandria City Centre in partnership with the Egypt Heart Society, launched a campaign to raise awareness of heart disease amongst Egyptian women. The initiative;  "Go Red for Women®" will  see both City Centre Maadi and Alexandria City Centre host medical stations where women can have their BMI, blood sugar level, cholesterol and blood pressure measured for free. Following their check-up, each female shopper will be offered a short consultation with a cardiologist where they will be provided with advice on how to best manage their health and protect themselves against heart disease. The initiative will be hosted in each mall for a period of 2 days and will build on the global campaign, Go Red for Women®, first started by the American Heart Association in 2004 as a way to raise awareness of the growing number of cases of cardiovascular disease amongst women, and was used as a way to dispel the common myth, that cardiovascular disease only affects older men.  

 

In addition to their partnership with the Egypt Heart Society, the Go Red for Women® campaign is also being supported by the Life Support Training Centre, as well as Astrazenica and Merck Serono Pharmaceutical Companies, who will be providing the medical supplies needed to make this campaign possible. In total it is projected that 1,200 women will be tested over the four days. Talking about their decision to launch this initiative in City Centre Maadi , Mr. Mostafa Kholief, Mall Manager for City Centre Maadi said “The Go Red for Women® program is part of a regional wide initiative to raise awareness of the growing risk of heart disease faced by women around the Arab world. At Majid Al Futtaim, we are constantly striving to support the local communities in which we live and work, highlighting our commitment to development and strengthening our position as a market leader. To be able to implement such a program in City Centre Maadi is something we are extremely proud as we truly believe that it will provide us with an opportunity to shed light on the growing risk of heart disease that Egyptian women face."

 

Adding to Mr. Kholeif's comments, Akram Zoheir, Mall Manager for Alexandria City Centre, said "We are constantly looking to address the humanitarian issues that affect our customers the most. As one of the number one killers of women worldwide, heart disease awareness is an important issue that we are extremely proud to be able to champion. We are pleased to have this opportunity to spread awareness amongst the women of Alexandria and would urge our customers to join us in supporting this important issue"

 

As part of the campaign, local celebrities including Sohair El Morshedy, Hanan Motawei and Sameh El Serity visited City Centre Maadi to lend their support for the campaign and help in raising awareness of this crucial issue. In Alexandria City Centre Sameh Elserity, Poussy and Mai Nour El Sherif were also present and worked to encourage female shoppers to get tested and take control of their health.

Heart disease is one of the most serious health risks faced by Egyptians causing over 78,000 deaths each year. Additionally around 21% of all annual deaths in Egypt are attributed to heart disease, with Egypt ranked 33^rd in terms of heart disease risk. Raising awareness of the risk factors that can eventually contribute to heart disease is the first important step to be taken if this epidemic is to truly be addressed.