Free health advice offered

The doctor's wing of the Pakistan Association in Dubai is to give free health advice and deliver lectures to labourers on dental care, healthy eating and basic hygiene. Muhammed Khaleeq, an adviser to the group, said the wing was also considering offering free clinics in Dubai's labour camps but would first consult UAE authorities to check local laws. "We are going to start raising awareness in the labour camps," said Mr Khaleeq. "Basic hygiene, healthy food, obesity, diabetes and dental care will be the main areas. Dental is very much ignored in the labour class, they get up in the morning and gargle. Doctors will be giving them free advice."

There are about 850,000 Pakistanis in the UAE and they form the second-largest expatriate community in the UAE after Indians. The advice campaign could start in February, Mr Khaleeq said. "This is the beginning. Later on, we need to find out what the local laws allow and what they don't. If we start a clinic, it will be a process. We don't want to do anything that isn't in accordance with local law."

The wing also called on the 1,500 Pakistani doctors practising across the emirates to join the group. For future projects they will call on "affluent members of the community who can possibly support us financially", Mr Khaleeq said. [e-mail]