ABU DHABI (WAM)
The UAE's healthcare sector achieved significant milestones in 2024 as part of efforts to enhance performance, improve quality of life, and promote healthy lifestyles across the community.
The UAE allocated Dh5.745 billion, representing eight percent of the federal budget for the 2025 fiscal year, to healthcare and community prevention services.
In a major development, the UAE Cabinet approved a decision to introduce a health insurance system for workers registered with private sector institutions and domestic workers in the UAE who do not already have health insurance.
The decision mandates private sector employers and sponsors of domestic workers to pay for the insurance coverage of their registered employees starting January 1, 2025.
The Cabinet also adopted the National Policy for Improving Women's Health to ensure women have access to the highest standards of preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative healthcare services.
In a related initiative, the Emirates Genome Council announced the inclusion of genetic testing as a fundamental part of pre-marital screening for all Emirati citizens planning to marry, effective January 2025.
The UAE announced a series of ambitious medical projects in 2024, including plans for a specialised medical city dedicated to women's and children's health. The city will encompass Sheikh Khalifa Medical City as a centre of excellence for paediatric care, the Corniche Hospital dedicated to women and newborns' health, a rehabilitation complex and a mental health centre for women and children.
In Dubai Healthcare City, phase two saw the groundbreaking for the Asan-UAE Gastroenterology Hospital. This facility, developed by Scope Investment, marks the first international branch of Asan Hospital, one of the largest healthcare institutions in the Republic of Korea.
The Emirates Medical Preparedness and Response Programme, Jaheziya, inaugurated a national nursing academy in collaboration with the National Academy for Medical Training and Research, Tadreeb. This initiative aims to develop the skills of Emirati healthcare professionals and strengthen the readiness of nurses across public and private hospitals nationwide.
On the global partnerships front, the Ministry of Health and Prevention signed a strategic cooperation agreement with AstraZeneca to advance early detection programmes for lung cancer using the latest technologies and best practices.
In 2024, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi approved the licensing of the Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi, the world's first centre specialising in healthy longevity medicine.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention also launched the National Survey for Health and Nutrition 2024-2025 in collaboration with the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, alongside local health authorities and statistical centres.
Rare surgeries
Throughout 2024, UAE hospitals continued to excel in performing complex and rare surgeries. A surgical team at Dubai Hospital successfully removed the world's largest adrenal gland tumour from a woman in her 60s.
The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), a subsidiary of PureHealth, has successfully treated a 54-year-old patient with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) undergoing dialysis for thyroid cancer using radioactive treatment.
In August, the Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre achieved a first in the UAE by performing an ovarian preservation procedure on a seven-year-old Emirati patient diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in collaboration with ART Fertility Clinic.
Meanwhile, Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi conducted the UAE's first successful paediatric liver transplant. The 12-hour surgery, performed on a four-year-old girl, was also the country's first paediatric liver transplant from a living donor.