• Daman provides emergency healthcare coverage for around 12,000 athletes and delegates attending the first Olympic event in the Middle East and North Africa
  • Daman sponsors UAE Special Olympics team and the Special Olympics Association UAE
  • Daman “Tamshi’’ application challenges the UAE to walk one billion steps to raise awareness of sports for the intellectually disabled
  • Fifty Daman employees are volunteering at the Special Olympics World Games between March 14 – 21.

Abu Dhabi, UAE: The National Health Insurance Company – Daman is partnering with the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi to provide emergency medical insurance for an estimated 12,000 athletes and delegates visiting the capital for the event. In a show for a wider support for those with intellectual disabilities, the company announced a donation  of AED 500,000 to the Special Olympics Association UAE to support its training and outreach activities beyond the 2019 Games.

Dr. Michael Bitzer, Chief Executive Officer of Daman, said: “12,000 athletes and support staff left their homes and travelled to Abu Dhabi for these games, and for many, this will be the pinnacle of their sporting career.” He added: “We at Daman want to make sure that all the athletes are focused on the sport, and so it is our pleasure for Daman’s provision of emergency healthcare coverage for both athletes and their support staff throughout their stay in Abu Dhabi.”

Bitzer added: “We are keen to maintain our support of Special Olympics initiatives to empower people of determination. This donation to the Special Olympics Association UAE will further support the Association’s activities, and endorse those with intellectual disabilities through sport.”

Rashed Abdulla, Chief Commercial Officer at Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019, said: “The wellbeing of every single athlete and coach at Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 is paramount. The UAE is committed to using the Games as a catalyst for creating a positive legacy for people of determination once the World Games are over, and the generous donation from Daman will help us launch even more initiatives and projects that will empower people of determination and promote a more inclusive world.”

To commemorate the donation, Daman has launched a new mobile app, “Tamshi”, which encourages the UAE to take up healthy walking to amass one billion collective steps over the month of March. The country’s largest health insurer aims for the campaign to raise awareness on the Special Olympics games as well as sports for the intellectually disabled.

The UAE Special Olympics Team is also counting their steps, alongside the rest of the nation, helping the UAE to march towards this impressive total.

H.E. Talal Al Hashemi, National Director of the Special Olympics UAE, said: “We are proud of our partnership with the UAE’s leading health insurance company, Daman. We extend our thanks to Daman for the contribution, which will support people of determination in the UAE, as well as the development of the community services sector. This partnership will also help showcase the value of cooperation and integration in the community.”

Daman welcomes everyone to download the app, while encouraging people to get walking to help the UAE reach a target of taking one billion steps, or around 800,000 kilometres, in the month of March.

Through the launch of this app, the Special Olympics will be able to capitalize on promoting a healthy lifestyle for all and encouraging individual sports. To contribute to this campaign, the UAE Special Olympics team has downloaded the app, and have been counting their steps, whilst training in preparation of the World Games.

Daman’s CEO explained the wide-ranging support for the Games and the future of sports for those with intellectual disabilities in the UAE are part of its ongoing efforts to encourage individuals to lead healthy and active lifestyles. He said: “Today’s announcement is a point of particular pride for all of us at Daman, as we look to support the promotion of sport and healthy living for every segment of society. With thousands of Special Olympics athletes in the UAE, the accessibility of sport for people with determination is crucial, if we are to succeed in our mission to create healthier communities across the country.

As part of the partnership initiative, 50 of Daman’s employees are volunteering at the Games. The company launched an internal campaign to encourage employees to take paid leave to volunteer full time, resulting in 50 of its staff taking on different roles. Volunteers from the company’s diverse, multicultural workforce, which consists of over 50 different nationalities, are providing support in other key areas such as translation and communications to the international collection of participants, delegates and spectators from all over the world.

Commenting on the volunteering programme, Hamda Al Shamali, Executive Director of Human Resources at Daman said: “Daman is first and foremost a company which cares, and it is in this context that I am proud that fifty of our employees are volunteering at the games. The Special Olympic World Games is an event which requires a huge amount of logistics, and so it is our pleasure to help support that effort. We’re lucky to have employees with such a commitment to the wider community in the UAE.”

The Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 kicked-off on 14th of March, receiving more than 20,000 overseas visitors joining tens of thousands of spectators from across the UAE.

For further information on the Special Olympics, please click here: https://www.abudhabi2019.org/ . To find out more about Daman’s Tamshi campaign and the app, please click here: https://www.damanhealth.ae/en/daman-tamshi 

To download Daman’s Tamshi, and take part in the challenge of helping the UAE walk one billion steps in March, please download the app from Google Play and iOS App Store.

-Ends-

Media Contact:

Matt Wickens

Four Communications

matt.wickens@fourcommunications.com 

+971 52 893 2016

© Press Release 2019

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