International accolade bestowed upon Royal Patron and Honorary President of Friends of Cancer Patients

For immediate release

Sharjah, April 27, 2017

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Founder and Royal Patron of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), was honored with the prestigious 3G ‘Global Good Governance’ Philanthropy Award.

Receiving the international accolade in Philanthropy, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC, was bestowed in recognition of her charitable work in the UAE’s social services sector and for her generous initiatives to reduce the burden of cancer and non-communicable diseases across the world. Taking place recently at Dubai’s Fairmont – The Palm, the awarding ceremony witnessed institutions and individuals’ world over from government & politics, corporate sector, social sector & philanthropy sectors.

Receiving the award on behalf of Her Highness was HE Sawsan Jafar, President of FoCP’s Board of Directors, who also received the ‘3G Service Excellence Award for Social Sector and Philanthropy 2017’ for FoCP on the same evening.

On receiving the award for Sheikha Jawaher, HE Jafar praised the achievements of FoCP’s Royal Patron and inspirational commitment to philanthropic endeavours; “Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those living with cancer and for their relatives and loved ones who stand beside them with unwavering commitment. This is the UAE’s Year of Giving and nothing exemplifies selfless generosity than the efforts of everyone involved in FoCP – an organization headed with such dedication by Sheikha Jawaher, it was an honor to have received this award on behalf of Her Highness” said HE Jafar.

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher’s commitment to fighting NCDs on a global level has seen the opening of the Sharjah Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London – Europe’s largest biomedical research center – with the new facility inaugurated earlier this month (April 2017).

FoCP’s important role in the fight against lifestyle diseases witnessed Sharjah hosting the first ever Global NCD Alliance Forum, which was presided over by Sheikha Jawaher. The inaugural event was a benchmark for tackling lifestyle-related diseases in the MENA region, including cancer, and brought together 206 delegates from 173 advocate organizations and 43 national and regional NCD Alliances. Held under the theme ‘NCD Advocacy and Accountability in the Post-2015 Era,’ the forum was a collaboration between FoCP and the NCD Alliance to discuss an effective roadmap for the future and to review NCD advocacy and accountability in the era of sustainable development. The emirate launched the ‘Sharjah Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases towards 2030’, which was endorsed by 230 international experts. It will also host the Second Global Non-Communicable Disease Alliance Forum, which is scheduled to take place from 9-11, December 2017.

On April 25^th,FoCP has launched the UAE ‘Relay for Life’ walkathon – a 24-hour walking challenge that is being held for the first time in the MENA region. Scheduled to take place November 17-18, 2017 at American University of Sharjah, the inaugural activity has been conceived in support of cancer patients and their families in the UAE.

Since its inception in 1999, Friends of Cancer Society has been delivering moral and financial support to more than 3,700 cancer patients and their families, irrespective of their nationality, gender, age, religion or ethnicity. This initiative was conceived by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher to address the rising incidence of cancer across the UAE and the wider world, with its aims being to create a cancer aware community in the emirates, to advocate for better measures to control cancer ensuring improved medical access for cancer patients.

FoCP, in addition, provides moral support to cancer patients through its ‘Colour my Life’ program, and ‘Umrah’ which sees the organization sponsor religious pilgrimages for patients and their families.