UAE, November 2, 2015 – The Executive Board of Health Ministers’ Council for GCC States launched during its third session the Health Media Gulf Excellence Award in collaboration with Aldar Almahliya Public Relations. With the value of the award now at USD 50,000, new competitions have been introduced this year to raise the number of categories up to seven from last year’s five and attract higher participation from all GCC states. The Council, which launched the annual contest five years ago, said this year’s slogan is ‘Prevention of Diabetes Complications.’

Dr. Fadheela Mohammed Sharif, the Ministry’s Director of Health Education and Promotion and member of the GCC Health Awareness and Media Committee, said: “The award aims to establish a culture of innovation and creativity among health employees for improved health awareness in the region. Each year, the competition attracts a high number of participants from the government and private sectors who are challenged to develop creative communications and outreach campaigns to win the top prize. The award seeks to foster a competitive spirit among health workers in order to contribute to disease prevention and health promotion initiatives.

“Through this award, we hope to strengthen our partnership with media organizations and support outstanding health awareness programs in the GCC. The Ministry’s Health Education and Promotion Department hopes that this year’s contest will attract more participants from institutions invited to join the award. The awarding ceremony will be held in Oman in February of next year,” Dr. Sharif added.

Aside from government and private entities, Dr. Sharif said individuals may also join the competition. Interested participants are required to submit their entries on or before November 29, 2015 to the Ministry’s Health Education and Promotion Department in Dubai.