Kuwait: Health Assurance Hospitals Company (DHAMAN) continues its contributions to sustainable development by carrying out its social responsibilities related to various societal aspects. As DHAMAN’s social responsibility initiatives focus on areas related to its business sector, which are health, education and the environment, and ensure that it carries out its work in accordance with best practices.

In a press release, DHAMAN said that “DHAMAN’s initiatives and activities reached wide segments of society in the context of the company’s march towards achieving leadership in community service”, indicating its endeavor to advance its social and health role in a prominent manner characterized by diversity and comprehensiveness, and to strengthen DHAMAN’s position as a company whose business model is based on the principle of health prevention and spreading health awareness, in a way that improves the implementation of sustainability standards and lays new foundations for the role of the private health sector in the development.

Social responsibility and DHAMAN culture

DHAMAN adopts a philosophy of responsible care, as the company believes and acts in accordance with a culture of giving and support that stems from the desire to build a proactive and beneficial society for all its members. This was evident from the beginning in the cooperation and joint activities carried out by DHAMAN during the Corona pandemic with the Ministry of Health, civil society organizations and charities to confront the pandemic and provide assistance to different segments of society to overcome its effects. The Company indicated that it is a pioneer in the field of providing healthcare, by adopting and implementing the Health Maintenance Organization model, as it believes in preserving the environment, promoting transparency, integrity and equal opportunity.

Sustainable business practices

The company stated that the health sector is one of the essential sectors that have committed themselves to the United Nations sustainable development goals, by ensuring the provision of healthcare to millions of people around the world. Therefore, DHAMAN has adopted sustainable business practices by joining the United Nations Global Compact initiative to develop, implement and disclose responsible business practices. It is a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible business practices by supporting international and institutional cooperation to build real partnerships, find innovative solutions to common challenges, and conduct business in a responsible manner. The United Nations Global Compact initiative includes thousands of companies and organizations worldwide committed to adopting and implementing responsible business practices.

In its statement, the company said “Through our accession to the United Nations Global Compact, we are working to support human rights, which is included in the Code of Conduct, the Human Resources Policy, and all the company’s systems and policies that already exist, as we in DHAMAN respect and appreciate all our employees and deal with them on an equal footing without discrimination of any form. Adding that among the initiatives adopted by DHAMAN the preparation of a governance special guide, which is one of the main pillars in applying and practicing the principles of corporate governance within the company to enhance the confidence of investors and vendors”.

Preventive health community initiatives

DHAMAN supports community initiatives in various forms to support the preventive health of the community, with a focus on health awareness and promotion of health culture by organizing a program of educational webinar lectures on many topics such as the importance of examining and diagnosing breast cancer in Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and prostate cancer on the occasion of Men’s Health Awareness Month, complications of high blood cholesterol, the negative effects of energy drinks, advice for patients with asthma and other chronic diseases, in addition to other important health topics. Furthermore, the company issues a number of pamphlets and pamphlets containing educational medical information about many common health problems in the community.

Medical education and training initiatives

As for the areas of professional development, DHAMAN encourages sustainable medical education and training in order to prepare local national manpower capable of advancing the health sector, especially after the Corona pandemic crisis showed the importance of qualifying professional medical staff. The company provided practical training to Kuwait University students and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training.

In addition, we cooperated with the Kuwait Medical Association in the field of supporting continuous learning for all doctors working in the fields of healthcare in the public and private sectors. DHAMAN enabled members of the Kuwaiti Medical Association to subscribe to the (UpToDate) website for a small portion of the fees, this platform is considered a source of support for medical recommendations and evidence-based decisions and professional development.

Building DHAMAN culture

DHAMAN cares greatly about the well-being and health of its employees and carries out many activities to enable community diversity, equality, fairness, and inclusion within the framework of the slogan “One Team… One Vision”. In this context, the company organized a set of internal activities and initiatives for employees, including organizing a series of sports activities, such as weekly football matches, holding social events and honoring wide groups of employees, and launching initiatives that would enhance unity between employees and contribute to building the company’s culture.

Raising health awareness in the community

DHAMAN widely supports the promotion of community health through many healthcare initiatives in cooperation with a number of non-profit associations and private entities. The company organized a visit to the Kuwaiti Society for the Disabled, conducted periodic check-ups for people with disabilities residing at the Society’s headquarters, and trained the nursing staff to conduct some examinations, in implementation of an existing agreement between DHAMAN and the Society since 2021.

Moreover, a free health check day was also organized at DHAMAN primary healthcare centers for labor in a number of private companies, in cooperation with Kuwaiti Resources House, Al-Mulla Group and Tariq Al-Ghanim Company. The medical examination included free general consultation, blood and sugar tests, and a review of medical history and current medications. In addition to organizing a free medical check-up day for Ooredoo staff, that also included free general consultation, check-ups for chronic diseases, review of medical history and current medications.

On the other hand, and in a manifestation of the diversity of community participation aimed at promoting health awareness in society, the company provided support to the Engineering and Petroleum Association, and also sponsored the Family Medicine Marathon 2022, which was organized by the Kuwaiti Association of Family Physicians and General Practitioners with the support of Kuwaiti Medical Association, and also participated in the donation campaign. As well as participating in the blood donation campaign in Al Dhow Tower in cooperation with Al-Imtiaz Group and the Kuwaiti Blood Bank. In the same context, the company continues to reach out the various communities residing and working in Kuwait through various means, most notably the program of communication with embassies of foreign countries in the country.

Attracting national labor

DHAMAN takes it upon itself, and within its objectives, to help create new job opportunities to absorb the workforce in society, by creating job opportunities in a new health sector. It is expected to provide about seven thousand jobs in the health sector during the next five years, of which citizens are expected to represent 15 percent of them at the beginning, provided that this percentage will gradually increase to reach 25 percent of the total number of workers. To achieve this goal, DHAMAN organized and participated in a number of events, including the recruitment day at the Public Authority for Manpower to recruit fresh graduates, and participated in employment fairs held at Kuwait University to meet and attract new graduates.