KUWAIT: EQUATE's campaign, launched on May 27 under the slogan 'Stay Normal,' in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, continued its tour around Kuwait's major malls to raise awareness against hypertension. Stay Normal is one of the Health Ministry's awareness programs EQUATE is incorporated with on behalf of their corporate social responsibility program.

Its goal is to promote awareness regarding the risks of hypertension. Hypertension, also known as the silent disease, is a very common disease in Kuwait as a high percentage of the population suffers from it. Many people in Kuwait do not realize they suffer from high blood pressure and put themselves at risk of strokes and heart attacks.

EQUATE's Vice President of Technical Services, Mohammed Al-Bin Ali said that this initiative is one of many social activities started by the company to serve both Kuwaiti citizens and expats. He added that some of their previous campaigns were health oriented to contribute toward a healthier community.

Al-Bin Ali told Kuwait Times that of the 1,000 people who participate in the 'Stay Normal' campaign almost 50% of them don't realize that they have hypertension. He added that the Ministry of Health contributed to the campaign, providing them with a logo, a campaign plan, doctors and physicians.

Al-Bin Ali finally added that EQUATE's corporate social responsibility program hopes to organize various campaigns with different ministries in order to contribute to a better society. Some of the ideas they have for the future regard addressing the rate of road accidents in the country as well as diabetes amongst children.

Dr Amaal Al-Yahia, observer of the health promotion programs in the Ministry of Health, said that they are more than proud to adopt any campaign that contributes toward a better and healthier community. She added that the 'Stay Normal' campaign strives for a better way of living by educating the community about a disease and helping them prevent it, as opposed to simply prescribing medicine.

As most people who have hypertension know, this disease is also known as a silent killer," Dr Amaal added. She explained that hypertension is an illness with unknown symptoms that can strike at any time. "This campaign attempts to help people find out about the disease at an early stage in order to help them make their recovery more effective," Dr Amaal said. Dr Amaal stressed that the Ministry of Health encourages other private companies to work alongside them, just as EQUATE has these past two years. - Kuwait Times