The volunteers participated in the awareness campaign.
DOHA: Aster Volunteers in partnership with Radio Malayalam 98.6 FM recently held a campaign ‘Let’s Drink’ to encourage the public consume more water during summer to avoid dehydration and kidney related diseases. The campaign held at the MIA Park in Doha reached high number of people.
Aster Volunteers is a global CSR programme that was launched by Aster DM Healthcare, the largest healthcare provider in the region and Radio Malayalam 98.6 FM has partnered as a part of their CSR initiatives.
More than 40 people volunteered for the event, which includes the members of Radio Malayalam 98.6, employees of Aster and representatives from other social and welfare organisations of Qatar.
Dr Sameer Moopan, Chief Executive Officer, Aster DM Healthcare - Qatar said, “As per the statistics issued by the Nephrology division of Hamad Medical Corporation, one in ten Qatar residents are believed to have some form of kidney disorder and related diseases. Drinking less or insufficient water is the main reason behind Kidney diseases and many of people are not aware of the importance of more water intake in summer.”
“As a part of Aster Volunteers Programme, we take it as our responsibility to educate the public and encourage them to safeguard their health during summer. Last year we distributed more than 30,000 bottles of drinking water to the public and this year we are targeting 40,000 bottles to be distributed. In addition to our employees, I am glad that we have a few participants from the public who came forward to join the campaign as volunteers and support the cause,” he added.
While, Dr Joy P George, Urologist at Aster Medical Centre Al Hilal says that children and older adults are especially at risk of being dehydrated due to the way their body responds to hot climate.
“The most common cause of dehydration in young children is severe diarrhea and vomiting. Older adults naturally have a lower volume of water in their bodies, and may have conditions or take medications that increase the risk of dehydration. This can be avoided by drinking sufficient amount of water throughout the day.”
“A healthy person needs 2 to 3 litres of water intake daily to avoid dehydration. Do not wait until symptoms appear to start drinking water. It is difficult to recommend a specific amount of water you should drink every day because everyone is different. The best way to ensure you are drinking enough water is by making sure your urine is consistently colourless or light yellow,” he added.
