DUBAI // Breast cancer awareness took to the beach yesterday and pink kites took to the air urging women to get regular health check-ups and heed the message that early detection saves lives.
As a colourful display soared above Kite Beach in Dubai, hundreds of beachgoers heard about the need for self-examination, check-ups from the age of 20 and mammograms after the age of 40.
“Campaigns like these start conversations in our community and conversations lower fear,” said Linda Berlot, a cancer survivor who had a mastectomy after breast cancer was diagnosed four years ago.
“Catching it really early meant that although I did need to have a mastectomy, I didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation. So if you catch it early not only can it be cured, it can also alter the course of your treatment.
“Women don’t go in for mammograms because they are afraid so they stay away. I get a lot of questions like, ‘Does the mammogram hurt?’ or ‘How do I support somebody who has breast cancer?’”
The family event on the beach was part of the BurJuman’s Safe & Sound campaign where a charity fundraising app was launched and skydivers delivered an on-message aerial show.
BurJuman pledged to donate Dh100,000 when the total distance walked reaches the 50,000 kilometres this year.
“This is so essential in a multicultural place like Dubai because you catch everybody on the beach, you reach families and kids with information,” said Stephanie Alam, a nurse in a city hospital who spent the day at the beach.
“It’s important that people know that it can affect young girls, you can be fully health and have breast cancer.”
Dr Houriya Kazim, the first Emirati female surgeon, said it was vital to reach large audiences.
“It doesn’t affect just the woman but the whole family,” said Dr Kazim, who founded the support group Brest Friends which in partnership with the Al Jalila Foundation will conduct breast cancer research in the UAE.
“The more word gets out, the more people will stop thinking it can only happen to somebody else. People begin to think about it when they see women who look like them who have had breast cancer and survived.”
Another group, the Pink Caravan, an initiative by the Friends of Cancer Patients charity, will end a separate campaign today at Jumeirah Beach Residence.
The programme included free breast cancer screenings and discussions with the audiences about the disease.
Over the past five years, Pink Caravan offered free screenings to more than 34,400 Emirati citizens and expatriates, including 7,873 men.
rtalwar@theantional.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
