DUBAI // An application has been designed to promote an active lifestyle and limit junk food as part of a campaign to shed light on the threat of cardiovascular disease – the world’s number one killer.
The One Heart Health Community, supported by the Emirates Cardiac Society, will educate residents on heart-related illnesses, risk factors and the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
It will encourage residents to download the “break-up” app, designed to help people keep track of changes in their lifestyle, such as exercising at home and limiting junk food.
The app will help to motivate users, track progress by family and friends, and encourage them not to give up on their goal.
“While we are all encouraged to lead active, healthy lives, the prevalence of heart-related illnesses in this country is astonishing,” said Mohamed Hammad, founder and managing director at Benchmark Middle East, in Dubai Media City, who devised the One Heart Health Community.
“We want to show our family, friends and colleagues that simple steps can make huge differences.”
The “How Many Hearts do you Have?” campaign will educate the public through Facebook, Twitter and blogs, while public events will raise the importance of a healthy heart.
Cardiovascular disease is the world’s leading cause of death, claiming about 17.3 million lives a year and about 30 per cent of deaths worldwide, the World Health Organisation says.
It accounts for one in four deaths in the UAE.
The campaign will start with a diabetes screening event at Dubai Mall on Sunday, 1pm to 9pm, when more than 80 nurses will be on hand for blood-sugar tests to determine the presence or chances of developing diabetes – a major risk factor for heart attacks.
Others include smoking, obesity and high blood pressure.
“Through our launch event and online campaigns we are spreading the word to as many people as possible that heart disease can be prevented if positive changes are made in our daily lives,” said Mr Hammad.
More information can be found at www.OHHC.me, and the app can be downloaded on to smartphones and tablet computers.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”