3 November 2017

A Salute to Hearts Fundraising Gala

Yaduna celebrates ‘Light Up A Heart’ to raise awareness and educate women on heart diseases

Beirut - November 3th, 2017 -  In celebration of its 4th anniversary, Yaduna Foundation organized its annual glittering fundraising gala dinner in support of prevention, screening, awareness, research and education around heart related diseases among women. A host of over 500 guests including government officials, business executives, medical professionals, patient advocates, celebrities, community and social figures, and members of the press turned out to support, educate and advocate women living with heart diseases or at risk of acquiring it. 

Successfully staged for 4 consecutive years, the event celebrated the energy, passion and power of the community to stand together and wipe out heart diseases: the number 1 killer among women in the world. Holding ‘Light Up A Heart’ as a title, this gala highlighted the significant role of Women Heart Health Center (WHHC) is playing in preventing cardiovascular diseases by encouraging women to undergo medical examinations, screening tests, and receive primary treatments when needed as well as embrace a healthy lifestyle. All proceeds of the event will be channeled to finance Yaduna awareness activities and WHHC, an initiative by Yaduna Foundation in cooperation with the Medical Center of the American University of Beirut (AUBMC) and the Faculty of Medicine at Saint Joseph University (USJ-FM). 

“At Yaduna, we strive to ensure that all women have access to medical care and receive the right treatment at the right time irrespective of the cost or social background. We want to send a message out that women are not alone, and they can greatly reduce their chances of developing heart diseases by making modest lifestyle changes such as diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol, stress management and of course routine checkups with their healthcare practitioners”, explained Mrs. Wafaa Sleiman, President of Yaduna. “Today, we achieved another year of outstanding success; this wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of each and every donor and the advocacy of the Ministry of Public Health and the healthcare system. Our center is committed to continue its awareness initiatives until the prevention of heart diseases becomes the personal goal of every women, who eventually serves as a role model in heart care for her entire family and society”, added Mrs. Sleiman. 

The fundraising event, animated by the renowned investigative media figure Claude Abou Nader Hindi and featured an exclusive entertainment experience, aimed also at honoring the generous support of donors who significantly contributed to influence and fund research, screening, education and advocacy for women heart health on a local and national level. 

During the gala, Yaduna Foundation announced that the Ministry of Public Health chose February to be the National Awareness Month for Heart Disease Prevention in Lebanon in collaboration with the National Committee for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The National awareness campaign will include an array of activities held at Primary Healthcare Centers, such as health screenings, educational breakout sessions and media campaign to reach out to the public. 

A documentary featured at the gala wrapped up the fruitful journey of the Women Heart Health Center during 2017 highlighting the remarkable momentum where 3,600 women have benefited from its preventative services and over 6,000 women have visited the center for follow ups and routine checkups. On the awareness front, Yaduna has conducted more than 60 annual educative sessions aiming at sensitizing women and encouraging them to take action and improve their heart health. These sessions were extended to involve banks, clubs, NGOs, municipalities and other concerned parties. 

It is worth mentioning that the cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death among women in the world. In fact, 56% of deaths among women are due to cardiovascular diseases while 64% of them did not appear to have any symptoms. Preventive examinations are crucial for women above the age of 45 and can be done at the Women’s Heart Health Centre in collaboration with eminent cardiologists from the AUBMC & USJ-FM regardless of their social background as the center is run by Yaduna, a not-for-profit foundation.