![Dr. Khalid Al-Saleh](https://kuwaittimes.com/uploads/imported_images/uploads/2022/06/Dr.-K.-Al-Saleh.jpeg)
"Awareness and Health without Borders Group", that belongs to the Gulf Federation for Cancer Control (gffcc.org), is a group of doctors, media men and clergy who carries a noble message across borders. This message aims at awareness, early detection, training and treatment of cancer. This chronic disease that is on the rise in most countries around the world, and awareness of its causes and means of early detection, both are the best means of fighting it. This group visited three countries so far; Yemen, Sudan and Mauritania, and stopped following the COVID-19 pandemic and now this group resumes its activity for the sake of continuing this noble work.
The visiting medical delegation to these countries includes oncologists who trained doctors and medical graduates, and examined tens of patients, operated on patients, delivered lectures, met officials and succeeded in convincing some of them to issue instructions that limit risks of smoking and risks related to cancer. The people we met there expressed in all possible means their love of this Gulf group that came only to convince its brothers to get rid of habits that cost them thousands of victims and present them with health awareness, training and treatment.
There is no doubt that doctors of those countries as well as media personalities made extreme efforts for the sake of making their people aware. They also appreciate any external effort that helps them in what they are doing. Yet, the stronger message in that visit are the beautiful feelings of patients and citizens, as they saw their brothers coming to give them advice as volunteers, not officially commissioned. These are feelings many are missing, because of that, our advices were more effective, and our doctors colleagues there were proud of us, not because we are better than them, rather because they felt we love them and distances did not prevent us from presenting what we can to them.
This gulf group against cancer will continue contacts with its Arab people and with the participation of doctors and Gulf and Arab countries as well as media men and religious scholars, will continue visiting remote areas for the sake of awareness early detection, and in each visit spreads love in its surroundings and strengthens ties between Arabs. Helping poor Arab people with money is good, but what is better is to reach them and help their ill, and rescue some of them by giving them the opportunity for early detection.
Even in rich Gulf countries, there are villages and areas where awareness does not reach, and are not given the opportunity for early detection, and people there often feel neglected. The GFFCC will be the link with those area and will strengthen brotherhood feelings among our peoples, and I hope that groups of medical awareness be varied, and early detection of other disease as it is for cancer and eyes.
Groups of Gulf doctors who carry the message of love with them wherever they go, maybe, years later, the Arabs in Somalia may feel that there are Arabs in the Gulf who truly love them, and are not satisfied with money remotely, rather they come to them to get to know each other. We in our nation need today, more than any other time, actions that make us all feel that we are one nation, and no one separates us. We need to create a healthy nation, and have the best doctors to treat diseases, and the return of health to a nation that almost all diseases did it grave harm.