The Ministry of Health will launch a national child sexual awareness campaign on Monday to coincide with the start of the new school semester.

A ministry official said health specialists would be available to advise parents and other people on how to identify and prevent sexual abuse of children. Members of the public can contact officials on the toll free number 8002494444 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

On Monday, Wafa Maria Ahmed Asiri, head of the Education Ministry’s kindergarten unit, will be available from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to talk about the nature and various types of sexual harassment and preventative measures. She will also provide advice for teachers and school managers.

On Tuesday, Khalid Al-Ragas, associate professor of psychology at the Faculty of Education at King Saud University, will talk about how to recognize symptoms of sexual abuse in children, and provide parents advice on coping mechanisms.

Laila Ali Wehbe will be available for discussions on how to increase parental awareness and educating children on the issue.

Amal Bint Muawiya Abu Jedaiye, director of the National Center for Media and Health Awareness, will handle inquiries on the issue. She said people can also contact her on Twitter, @saudimoh.

The official said the ministry also conducts awareness campaign on other issues. It recently launched a three-year Kingdom-wide awareness campaign on non-communicable diseases (NCD) at its headquarters in Riyadh.

The ministry also set up a website where people can get information on these diseases. He said harmful habits include not exercising, consuming excessive food, salt and sweets, and smoking.

He said 28 percent of people here above the age of 30 have diabetes, 21 percent suffer from hypertension, and 22 percent die from these diseases.

Around 25 percent of the ministry’s 20,000 Home Healthcare Program patients have diabetes, cardiac and renal diseases, while 23 percent suffer from strokes and neural diseases.

A recent ministry report stated that Saudis have a predisposition to lifestyle diseases. The population increase to an estimated 31.69 million by 2015 would mean a greater burden on the health system.

The number of Saudis past the retirement age of 60 will grow by 27 percent by 2015. This age group would account for about 4.7 percent of the total population in 2015, or over 1.2 million individuals, the report stated.

This development will lead to an increase in demand for high-cost medical care to treat diseases that typically affect older patients.

The United Nations estimates that Saudi life expectancy will increase to 73.8 years by 2015, provided demographic trends remain the same. Based on population projections, outpatient visits and inpatient admissions are expected to reach 159 million visits and 4 million admissions respectively by 2015.

The Business Monitor International’s Burden of Disease Database, which examines the total number of disability adjusted life years (DALY) lost to disease and injury annually, indicates that by 2015, about 3.4 million DALYs will be lost to NCDs in the Kingdom.