Qatar Pharmacy Undergraduate Society’s first on-campus campaign

Qatar Pharmacy Undergraduate Society (QPhUS) organised its first on-campus campaign at the College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, after two years of virtual campaigns.

This campaign takes place in November, which is Men's Health Awareness Month, which started with a global initiative known as 'Movember'. The 'Movember' campaign includes awareness of men's mental health, as well as diseases such as prostate and testicular cancer.QPhUS executive board opened the campaign on November 3 in the presence of faculty, staff and students. The opening followed all Ministry of Public Health precautionary measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The campaign featured the spreading of awareness through educational infographics that included statistics, symptoms, risk factors and ways to prevent these issues. It also included information on how to provide support to all the affected men. Students from different colleges and faculty members participated in writing notes to support and encourage the male community around the world.Dr Feras al-Ali, dean of the College of Pharmacy, said: “The 'Movember' booth campaign is a progressive initiative that is well organised, focusing on men’s health. The focus on men’s mental health, in particular, is of great importance, as I believe this topic does not get enough attention while vital. Witnessing our beloved students getting back to physical activities after a long pandemic is spirit lifting.”Marwa Elshazly, QPhUS president, said: “It was a great opportunity for QPhUS to shed the light on men’s health and spread awareness about 'Movember', which includes men’s mental health. In addition to that, it was a pleasure seeing faculty members and students gathered in one place for an extracurricular activity after almost two years of Covid-19 restrictions.”Mohamed Haitham, who is a board member of QPhUS and one of the campaign organisers, said: “After two years of virtual events, the first on-campus event was the 'Movember' event, which was very successful. The event was informative as it discussed and raised awareness of such an important topic, which is men’s health. A surprising number of attendees, doctors, and students from different colleges attended the opening. Alhamdullilah, everyone was impressed with the work done by the QPhUS team in this event.”