SHARJAH // The emirate is to hold the first global non-communicable disease forum next autumn, hosted by the Friends of Cancer Patients.

The Global Non-Communicable Disease Alliance Forum is to take place in November next year, Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah and founder and royal patron of the cancer charity announced on Friday.

The announcement came at a ceremony co-hosted by Sheikha Jawaher and the Union for International Cancer Control, for which she is international ambassador.

Sheikha Jawaher said she hoped the forum would help civil society working with non-communicable diseases in low and middle-income countries gain more attention and resources.

The NCD Alliance coordinates a network of 26 national and four regional alliances. The forum is to bring these organisations together for the first time.

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