Dubai’s ruler launches new five-year health strategy

A new five-year health strategy aimed at helping Dubai become a regional medical hub was launched by the Dubai’s ruler His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Tuesday.

The Dubai Health Strategy 2021 aims to revamp and streamline the emirate’s healthcare sector, official news agency WAM reported.

The initiative features four main approaches, six objectives, 15 programmes and 93 initiatives.

The four approaches include health and lifestyle, excellence in providing service, smart healthcare and governance.

Some of the goals comprise ensuring a healthy and safe environment in Dubai, providing a high quality comprehensive and integrated health service system and achieving innovation in the sector.

Others include improving efficiency in providing health care, creating an integrated database to be used for the smart government policy and developing an effective ecological system in collaboration with the private and public sectors.

“The emirate of Dubai is facing a five-year challenge of improving healthcare services and rising to our ambitions and aspirations for establishing Dubai as a main medical destination in the UAE and the wider region where one billion people live around us,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

The strategy was jointly drafted by the 11,000 employees and heads of the Dubai Health Authority as well as directors of private health facilities, pharmaceutical and IT companies, companies manufacturing medical formulas and insurance agencies.

Sheikh Mohammed added: “It is everyone’s responsibility to develop this vital sector and we will continuously follow up on the developments… Our most important investment will be in the DHA medial cadres and staff because they are the real capital due to their knowledge, skills and continued training. We will also build strategic partnerships with the private sector to ensure the consolidation of Dubai as a capital for medical tourism during the coming period.”

Dubai aims to attract 170,000 medical tourists this year with revenues from the sector set to reach Dhs 1.1bn. By 2020, those figures are anticipated to reach 500,000 tourists and Dhs 2.6bn in revenues.

The new strategy caters to the “emirate’s aspirations to be a global model in the field of health as a city that has a happy and healthy society,” WAM said.

“This will be achieved through medical and research institutions that use the most advanced technologies and smart applications operated by administrative, medical, technical and nursing cadres.”

Dubai also hopes to provide the “highest quality of medical care to patients with chronic diseases”, promote a culture of early detection and raise awareness about the importance of regular check-ups.