10 great Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns in the Middle East

It's hard to miss the appearance of pink everywhere in October, as NGOs, brands and governments come together for #BreastCancerAwareness month, and the Middle East is no exception.

In the region, breast cancer is a particularly problematic disease because many women tend to ignore its early signs due to cultural norms preventing them from speaking up about the sensitive issue.

Multiple Middle Eastern organizations launch nationwide, regional or even international campaigns to maximize their effectiveness. These are 10 of the best breast cancer awareness efforts in the Middle East this year.

Safe & Sound is one of the biggest, oldest and most comprehensive campaigns in the Middle East, it has been carrying out October activities for more than 18 years. This year, it has introduced the Safe & Sound app which allows participants to run, walk, track their progress and donate to breast cancer foundations.

Launched by UAE's Friends Of Cancer Patients, the initiative has more than 50 events planned for this year's October, these include free screenings, educational workshops, awareness lectures provided by the team as they travel across the UAE.

Pink It Now was launched by UAE's Zulekha Healthcare Group and supported by Ford's "Warriors in Pink" campaign, it is targeting increased awareness about early detection through regular examination and medical tests, with the message "Bolder & Stronger Together."

Launched by the foundation, it includes numerous "health day" awareness events at malls, clubs and pharmacies across Egypt, as well as the launch of the "draw in pink" hashtag on social media which encourages women to draw the pink ribbon on their hands.

Breast Cancer Arabia, a foundation that financially assists women living and working in the Middle East, launched the 200k Club, a project aiming to get 200,000 people to donate £25 per year for two years to improve the treatment and care for patients.

Founded by Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, who also founded the Saudi "Zahra Breast Cancer Association," 10KSA is targeting increased awareness within Saudi Arabia, and is organizing an event on December 12 that aims to break the Guinness World record by gathering 10,000 women in Riyadh to form the world's largest ever pink ribbon.

Organized by the Abu Dhabi Bank, the campaign involves a variety of community outreach events, activities and donation outlets. This year the campaign is introducing the ADCB "Wellness On Wheels", a new self-contained mammogram bus providing free screenings in the UAE for women.

Launched by UAE's The Nail Spa, in cooperation with the Pink Caravan, the campaign is aiming to spread awareness by selling limited edition pink nail art and the "wear it, share it" pink ribbons in order to give the proceeds to the Pink Caravan.

As a part of Hard Rock Cafe's Pinktober, supported by Echosmith, the Dubai branch is selling merchandise in support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Caron Keating Foundation, as well as adding an exclusive performance by Take That in Dubai on Oct. 31 in support of the cause.

In support of pink October, Art 7ake, a Lebanese design brand that creates elegant Arabic designs to express ideas, created a design to raise awareness about early detection of the disease.