Argentinian football star Lionel Messi and Chairman of Ooredoo Group, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, pose with children at Aspire Dome yesterday. See also page 28(Shaival Dalal)
Doha: Ooredoo and the Leo Messi Foundation have tied up to support mobile health clinics around the world to provide medical aid for children in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Ooredoo Chairman Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani and football star Lionel Messi announced the launch of the initiative during a ceremony at the Aspire Academy yesterday. The project aims to reach out to two million children by 2016.
The company also plans to expand its range of mHealth services — health-based advisory and monitoring services that can be accessed on a mobile phone. Customers in Kuwait, Palestine and Iraq can already access diabetes-related mobile information and alerts. Ooredoo Qatar is trailing a 24/7 mobile health advice service, and Indosat in Indonesia is developing a similar service enabling access to doctors and health related information via text, voice and rich content.
“Disease and lack of access to healthcare is a major barrier for young people in many parts of the developing world, and we see the mobile clinic initiative as a practical and effective solution. Today’s initiative will enable us to work with the Leo Messi Foundation and transform our Indonesian mobile clinic initiative into a global force for better health,” Saud Al Thani said:
The Leo Messi Foundation, founded by Messi in 2007, has helped fight Chagas disease and offer scholarships for training doctors. Working with Ooredoo will enable the Foundation to extend its work into the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. “Ooredoo and I believe in making a difference in the community, and I’m proud that the Leo Messi Foundation will help Ooredoo provide much-needed healthcare and educational support for at-risk children around the world. This unique partnership with Ooredoo is another way that we can help youth make their dreams come true,” Lionel Messi said.
The Foundation will also help promote and develop the programme across additional regions in Indonesia, including distributing medicine to more young people. People will be able to recognise the partnership, as there will be branded logos of the Leo Messi Foundation and Messi on the mobile health clinics and doctors’ medical kits.
Indosat, part of Ooredoo, has provided more than 600,000 people in Indonesia free healthcare services through its mobile clinics programme launched in 2008. Indosat’s award-winning 16 mobile health clinics have treated people in rural areas who have limited access to hospitals and doctors.
“Indosat’s mobile health clinics have been a major success in Indonesia, having treated hundreds of thousands at-risk people, mostly children and women.
With support from the Leo Messi Foundation, we’ll be able to expand our mission to help more people living in Indonesia, and provide support for healthcare initiatives such as vaccination programmes,” Alexander Rusli, President Director and CEO, Indosat, said.
Future markets targeted by the mobile health clinic initiative include Algeria, Tunisia and additional countries across the Ooredoo footprint.
This also includes countries like Qatar that have a highly-developed healthcare infrastructure. In these countries, the mobile health clinics can be used to promote healthy lifestyles among underserved communities, youth and women.
“Bringing Ooredoo’s regional and global initiative of mobile health clinics to Qatar, in partnership with the Leo Messi Foundation, demonstrates our commitment to promoting human growth and will enhance the healthcare for many people,” Waleed Al Sayed, COO, Ooredoo Qatar, said.The Peninsula
