Qatar- Ooredoo in Indonesia health initiative

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Ooredoo and the Leo Messi Foundation officially launched the first in a series of mobile clinics in Indonesia recently.

The celebrations took place in Jogja, the capital of the Yogyakarta Special Region in Java, and marked the first step in the ongoing expansion of Ooredoo's and the Leo Messi Foundation's healthcare initiative announced in May this year. Plans are in place to launch more clinics in Indonesia, Myanmar, Algeria, and Tunisia as part of the programme.

With a focus on the importance of education and healthy living for communities, the clinics will play an informative role, in addition to providing people with a range of free services, including medical checks, dental checks, nutritional advice and vitamin distribution.

The launch ceremony was attended by Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, Ooredoo chairman and chairman of the Board of Commissioners of Ooredoo's company in Indonesia, Indosat; Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo; Alexander Rusli, president director and CEO, Indosat; and representatives of Jogja's local government.

In addition, 150 parents and 150 children attended the event, where they received messages about prevention and cures for common illnesses as well as the importance of a healthy lifestyle and education for children. These members of local rural communities were also able to try the clinic's services, receiving a range of healthy gifts to help ensure that better living continues at home.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani said: "These mobile health clinics are an investment in the future of the communities we serve."

He continued: "I have had the opportunity to see the mobile clinics in action. They travel out to remote areas, staffed by medical professionals and volunteers, and actively work with the community to address a range of healthcare issues. It is inspiring to see the work they are doing and we are passionate about helping them to reach as many people as possible, not only here in Indonesia but across all of the markets that we operate in."

Alexander Rusli said: "The mobile clinic programme was created as an immediate response to some of the serious health issues facing people in Indonesia's rural and underserved communities. To date our clinics have treated 600,000 people in Indonesia and our work with Leo Messi and the Leo Messi Foundation has provided an important boost to this programme. The extension of the service will teach children the importance of a healthy lifestyle and of disease prevention. These are lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, and we hope they will teach them to their children, providing a lasting legacy of better health and wellbeing for our nation."

The Ooredoo mobile health clinic initiative was launched in 2013 in partnership with the Leo Messi Foundation. As part of this partnership, the two organisations are providing healthcare in rural areas across Ooredoo's footprint in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, aiming to reach more than two million young people with services by 2016. Ooredoo also works with football hero Leo Messi as its global brand ambassador.

During the visit, Sheikh Abdullah and Indosat's Board of Commissioners were granted an audience with the Sultan of Yogyakarta, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X. To mark the occasion and thank the people of Jogja for their support, Indosat made a series of donations culminating in a joint Ooredoo-Indosat donation of $100,000 to the Sultan of Jogja to support a range of programmes, including the preservation of cultural sites in Jogja.

Ooredoo has a long track record of charitable support in Indonesia, having donated funds for relief efforts to help flood victims in Indonesia in January 2013 and aided Indonesian victims of the volcanic eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010.