Dubai Science Park Raises Awareness of Paralysis

Dubai-UAE: 19, September 2021 Dubai Science Park, the region’s leading science and healthcare-focused business district, has launched a campaign to highlight paralysis and the UAE’s role in treating life-changing conditions. It is part of Dubai Science Park’s mandate to create a knowledge and innovation-based economy.

Home to over 400 companies and 4,000 professionals, Dubai Science Park has been successful in building a life science value chain through its enabling ecosystem that supports and promotes synergies among hospitals, healthcare companies, technology companies in healthcare. Additionally, Dubai Science Park regularly provides platforms to engage with its healthcare and science community including networking events, industry talks and panels including Advance Health and the region’s first Greenlight for Girls event, which encouraged young women to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

Stuck will educate the public and the business community about paralysis, highlight how to prevent it, inspire companies to develop new products, services and solutions to treat it, and spread a message of hope and empathy to those who suffer from it. It is in line with the UAE’s vision to create a world-class healthcare industry and will support the objectives of the National Policy for Empowering People of Determination.

The centrepiece of the campaign is a chilling short film that urges viewers to discover more about paralysis. The deliberately uncomfortable video will also play ahead of film screenings in Roxy Cinemas across Dubai in order to spread the message and inform the masses. 
It will also shed a light on how to effectively identify the symptoms that lead to the condition through multiple media such as a social media challenge, workshops, radio content, and activations to make this important topic, prominently featured, talked about and understood.

Viewers are also encouraged to find out how Dubai Science Park’s healthcare community helps patients manage paralysis. Stuck is supported by Neuro Spinal Hospital, Ottobock, and Roxy Cinemas alongside Dubai Science Park and has been conceptualized by McCann Health Middle East.

Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi, Managing Director of Dubai Science Park, said: “Millions of people suffer from paralysis all around the world and providing them with comprehensive, high-quality care and treatment is critical on our ongoing journey to create an inclusive society. We play a leading role in advancing the UAE’s vision for a world-class healthcare industry by attracting state-of-the-art hospitals, doctors, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment firms and more to provide support and rehabilitation for people suffering from paralysis. Stuck represents a step forward in our efforts to raise awareness of debilitating conditions and bring innovative businesses to Dubai. It also aims to empower individuals to take responsibility for their health and learn more about the causes of and treatments for paralysis. The campaign will also include industry talks and stakeholder discussions, and we hope it will elevate the emirate’s global status as an attractive destination for businesses at the nexus of paralysis care.

Prof. Abdul Karim Msaddi, Chairman and Medical Director of Neuro Spinal Hospital said: “We opened the Neuro Spinal Hospital and Radiosurgery Centre in Dubai Science Park earlier this year and are proud to bring next-generation care to the region. With compassionate medical expertise and cutting-edge technology, we have successfully helped patients facing the prospect of paralysis make remarkable recoveries after potentially life-changing accidents. Stuck is an important campaign that we are delighted to support alongside Dubai Science Park.”

Dennis Walter, Vice President EEMEA at Ottobock, added: “We create innovative medical equipment that helps people maintain or regain their freedom of movement and have supported every Paralympic game since 1988. As part of our ongoing global efforts to support important causes, we are pleased and privileged to participate in Stuck with Dubai Science Park. By raising awareness around the causes of, and treatments for, paralysis, we hope to bring the business community together to explore new possibilities for innovation that can empower people of determination to lead a more mobile life.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) says up 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke annually. Of these, five million die and another five million are left permanently disabled. It also estimates up to 500,000 people suffer a spinal cord injury – a cause of paralysis – every year.

The UAE has made strides forward in efforts to become a leading healthcare destination. It continues to engage in global humanitarian work, with the WHO praising the country’s recent efforts to eradicate polio and protect children from lifelong paralysis in places such as Pakistan.

Established in 2005, Dubai Science Park is an enabling ecosystem for knowledge and innovation-based industries such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, life, human, plant, material, environmental and energy sciences. The business district welcomed dozens of new companies to its community last year, including US biotechnology multinational Biogen; DGrade, the first UAE’s first plastic-bottle-to-yarn manufacturing company; and Indian’s largest biopharmaceutical company, Biocon.