Memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in the presence of HE Shamma Al Mazrui
- Signing a strategic partnership MoU agreement between National Ambulance and Special Olympics UAE
- To equip technical teams with scientific knowledge and first aid skills to deal with emergency sports injuries for people of determination
- Promote Ambulance awareness and first aid culture amongst people of determination and their families
- Proper planning for large events to provide the necessary emergency medical services to ensure participants’ safety
- Enhance emergency ambulance crews’ awareness about people of determination with intellectual disabilities and their needs through comprehensive community integration.
Dubai, 22 December 2019: The Special Olympics UAE, today, signed, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Ambulance, aimed at developing the strategic partnership between the two parties, in the presence of Her Excellency Shamma Bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrui, the UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Chair of the Special Olympics UAE Board, H.E. Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ahmad, Deputy Chairman of National Ambulance Board of Director, Ahmed Al Hajeri, Chief Executive Officer of National Ambulance and Talal Al Hashemi, Executive Director of the Special Olympics UAE.
Under the agreement, the two parties agreed to cooperate in several important areas of shared interest, including the promotion and enhancement of policies related to education related to Sport Emergency Medical Services for people of determination and their overall well-being, in addition to providing basic and advanced educational first aid content for all athletes, coaches, technical officials, sport observers, club coaches, special education teachers, shadow teachers, physiotherapist, physical education teachers and clinical directors working under the umbrella of the UAE Special Olympics; and provide all means of support and awareness about people of determination with intellectual disabilities, as well as providing awareness programmes and initiatives for people of determination athletes to help them cope with issues surrounding performance and increase their awareness about first aid and the ambulance service.
The agreement also aims to evaluate and increase the Special Olympics team’s knowledge and special care qualifications needed to work with people of determination with intellectual disabilities. The partnership will allow both parties to work on joint initiatives across various events and will also provide volunteering opportunities for National Ambulance staff. In addition, National Ambulance will participate in the awareness programmes provided to the families of people of determination by providing educational workshops on first aid and its importance in appreciation of their pivotal role in the lives of their sons and daughters.
On the technical side, National Ambulance will provide an advanced training program for trainers and technicians to equip them with the knowledge and first aid skills that help them deal with emergency sports injuries for people of determination with intellectual disabilities and look after their health and safety until the arrival of specialized ambulance service. National Ambulance will also share their expertise in providing professional consultancy and advice on proper emergency planning for large events to ensure participants safety.
The agreement will also activate the collaboration in the field of community integration, which will be incorporated in the National Ambulance Emirati Emergency Technician Programme, where a certain number of hours will be allocated to community service where students will engage in UAE Special Olympics events and activities to interact directly with people of determination and their families by increasing their awareness about first aid and safety instructions.
On this occasion, Her Excellency Shamma Bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrui, said: “At Special Olympics UAE, we are focusing on strengthening all of our partnerships with organizations to spread awareness about and ensure active inclusion of people of determination. Our goals fall under the Nation’s strategic vision of achieving a holistic community integration.
The agreement we are signing with the UAE National Ambulance today supports our commitment to providing the highest level of care. This partnership ensures the availability of urgent medical services to our UAE Special Olympics Athletes at all times.”
She added: “The training that will be carried out by National Ambulance will be available to all those working in SO UAE including sports instructors - this will enhance the quality of initiatives we offer our athletes. It is salient that the team is equipped with skills and the knowledge of how to deal with injuries and medical emergencies that can happen during sporting activities.”
“After the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019, we trained over 200 individuals, and are keen to magnify the impact we had since then.” She said.
His Excellency Abdulaziz Al-Ahmad, Deputy Chairman of the National Ambulance Board of Directors, stressed the importance of building and forming collaborations with entities concerned with people of determination and sharing expertise with them based on the importance of strengthening awareness of the ambulance service and first aid culture amongst communities across the UAE and providing their circles around them with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide first aid support in emergency situations until the arrival of the ambulance service.
Ahmed Al Hajeri, National Ambulance’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The UAE has been at the forefront of the support, empowerment and protection of the rights of People of Determination and their inclusion in society. As part of that commitment, this year the UAE hosted the Special Olympics World Games where 7,500 athletes from over 190 countries took part. We were in awe of the achievements of the athletes from the Special Olympics UAE. Subsequently, National Ambulance worked with the participants’ coaches and trainers to increase knowledge and skills about the sports emergency care for People of Determination. My hope is that we can match the athletes’ determination, by continuing what we started and our commitment to this important objective is guaranteed by the MoU we have signed today.”