United Arab Emirates -  November 12, 2020:  Ashuja’an Association, the first and largest, association in Israel that acts on behalf of Arab children and communities living with diabetes, announces it’s launch into the UAE in time for World Diabetes Day 2020.

In light of the recent peace treaty between the UAE and Israel, Ashuja’an Association, meaning ‘the brave’ in Arabic, is taking this opportunity to extend its support for and work with diabetics of all ages, types and nationalities, across the Middle East, starting with the UAE. The Association is currently home to more than 2,000 diabetic children and teenagers in Israel and Palestine, with over 250 volunteers. Ashuja'an is active in 60 cities and villages across Israel And Palestine. 

According to the Dubai Health Authority, the UAE is currently ranked 10th highest in the world for prevalence of diabetes, with as much as 19 per cent of the UAE’s population suffering from the ‘silent pandemic.’ The UAE was the natural choice of where to expand into as it has the highest percentage of its population suffering from the disease in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia ranking 14th. As of this moment, there are 425 million people worldwide living with the chronic condition, including nearly one in five adults in the UAE. 
 
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), in 2017 approximately 425 million people between the ages of 20-79 were living with diabetes; by 2045 this will rise to 629 million. Every eight seconds, someone around the world dies of diabetes and despite these staggering figures, the Type 2 diabetes that affects the majority of adults is preventable in nearly half of all cases, according to the International Diabetes Federation ahead of November 14’s World Diabetes Day. Ashuja’an Association aims to decrease the number of deaths in all countries it operates in by increasing awareness, supporting communities in their management of the disease and introducing initiatives and technology to help diagnose early.

 Shadi Kassis, CEO & Founder of Ashuja’an Association said: “In Israel we already have a number of highly successful annual initiatives we run and we will be bringing all of them to the UAE. COVID-19 permitting. Israel is world renowned for its technology and innovation and the Ashuja’an Association is no exception. We are co-founders to a series of technologies focussed on the management of diabetes types 1 and 2. Three of these technology-based products are in development stage and will be opening up to UAE investors. One is a bracelet which changes colour to notify its wearer when their blood sugar levels are too high or too low. The second is an application called d app, which is a cellular, wearable, IOT system configured to monitor, predict and alert before the user develops or experiences diabetic related issues such as seizures, hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia plus other related infections and conditions. The third is a one-stop digital clinic.”