The Dean of the Arts and Sciences faculty for Girls of King Khalid University, Dr. Sara Abu Melha has launched an awareness campaign entitled "Science is Life". The campaign was launched at the faculty of Applied Medical sciences by the Environmental Health Club and Nursing faculty in Khamis Mushayte in cooperation with Asir Health Administration, Asir central Hospital and the Alsenaya Heath Center in Khamis Mushayte. The students of the participating faculties also took part in the campaign, which targeted 250 ladies in order to raise their awareness on Cancer and AIDS, and how to protect themselves from these diseases.

In her word, Abu Melha confirmed that the message of the health club at the University was to improve the peoples' health in the region. Aspiring to achieve thas message, she said "we should hold awareness campaigns to protect people from these diseases, through early diagnosis of cases and transferring them to specialized hospitals, in addition to preventing the complications of these diseases in collaboration with hospitals and regional health centers".

Subsequently, two lectures were presented, the first entitled "Prevention of diabetes and its complications," was presented by a professor of Public Health diseases at King Khalid University Dr. Nanis Ahmed. She indicated that the incidence of diabetes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) exceeded 25%. She said, "This ratio puts the Kingdom on top of the list of most affected countries, and those prone to diabetes, due to life style and quality of foods. The lecture dealt with the causes, symptoms and complications of diabetes, and how to control it, and live with it."

The second lecture entitled "How to protect yourself and your family from AIDS" was presented by professor of infectious diseases at King Khalid University Dr. May Dessouki. She said that despite the high religious values that characterize the Saudi society, the KSA is one of the countries that is prone to the AIDS disease as the Kingdom is the Qiblah that millions of Muslims head to every year to perform Hajj and Umrah. Also, the Kingdom has been receiving large numbers of workers from all other countries of the world to work therein. Another possible reason is the external tourists from various countries of the world which is remarkably noticed in recent years. So, the community still needs more awareness of the disease."

On the other hand, at the campaign sidelines, an awareness exhibition was held containing many sections. Many health authorities participated, and a variety of services such as measuring weight, height, body mass, pressure, and the level of blood sugar, and the level of hemoglobin in blood were offered to the visitors.

During the exhibition, the students of the Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences offered a range of educational information to visitors about how to control obesity, diabetes and blood pressure in addition to the distribution of awareness brochures and healthy meals to the audience.

On this occasion, the Head of Environmental Health Club, who is also the Coordinator of Emergency Medical Services at the Faculty of Nursing, Khamis Mushayt Dr. Hanim Abdullah clarified that the campaign aspired to reduce the expected proportion of diabetic incidences by spreading awareness of the ways of prevention, early detection of the disease, and the discovery of cases in the early stages of development and diagnosis, in addition to the discovery of the factors leading to the disease. There was also information on how to detect it in case of doubt in injury. The campaign also sought to spread the AIDS hotline number, through which it will be easy to communicate with a patient confidentially. The hotline is also a means to provide people in general, with the information they want to know about the disease, the ways of its prevention, its symptoms, how to deal with patients, preventing complications from taking place through identifying it, and knowing how to live with the disease if it occurs. She said, "I believe that the community is still in need of such awareness programs and campaigns, because science is important and is an influential key to prevent infection."