Mohammed attends Dubai Health Forum
DUBAI: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, graced the opening of the Jan.9-10 international Dubai Health Forum (DHF).
Under his patronage and aligned with the UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Vision 2021, the forum has 2,000 healthcare experts, professionals and supporters from across the world, in attendance.
Sheikh Mohammed arrived at the conference and heard the discussions on the topic “The Future of Healthcare: A Minister’s Point of View” among UAE Minister of Health and Prevention Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammed Al Owais, Oman Minister of Health Ahmed Mohammed Obaid Al Saidi, and former Qatar Minister of Public Health Abdulla Al Qahtani.
He thereafter went around the Health Technology Park, situated on the other end of the Baniyas Hall and where “health talks” on 3D Printing Medicines and Drug-Loaded Medical Devices, Investment in Healthcare, Watson Oncology Adviser, Augmented and Virtual Reality-The Future of Global Medical Education, Changing the Fitness Movement for Future Generations, and Upright MRI: Could this be the End of Claustrophobia in Medical Imaging, were scheduled on the first day. From the discussions on the future of healthcare in the Gulf, the three health ministers were one in echoing what medical scientists and experts from the region and other parts of the globe have been saying about the need for more healthcare professionals, particularly clinicians or physicians in the GCC to undertake scientific and medical research for the region.
Al Owais, Al Saidi and Al Qahtani mentioned that there have been private-public partnerships in this area but more has to be done, amid the challenges of the healthcare sector and public health in general, specifically in the field of chronic and non-communicable diseases.
At some point, Al Saidi jokingly said that the health ministries must be otherwise known as Ministry of Diseases because of the persisting health issues and concerns, saying that health is not only a concern of one entity but is everyone’s responsibility. On the other hand, he pointed out that it is upon the determination of the leadership on which way the health of a country would go.
On his response regarding the question of the progress of public health in Oman, he said: “We did not have a healthcare sector before the current leadership. Our lifespan before was only 49 years, we only had one hospital, 13 doctors, 12 hospital beds, and there was 28 per cent deaths among infants.” “Today, we have 70 hospitals, 9,000 physicians, average life expectancy is at 76 for men and women but men also live as long as 87 years. We rank second in the cost-effective health measures in the Arab Region and Preventive Medicine primarily through vaccination at 99 to 100 per cent.”
His testimony earned a thundering applause from the audience.
All three health ministers pointed out that while the Gulf States must continually help one another in improving healthcare programmes for better communities, these must also continually reach out to other governments and public or private individuals in other countries in order to achieve this basic global goal. Anchored on the Dubai Vision 2021, the DHF aims at putting altogether ideas and plans of action resulting in a “city of a happy, creative and empowered people; an inclusive and a cohesive society; the preferred place to live, work and visit; a smart and sustainable city; a pivotal hub in the global economy; and a pioneering and excellent government.”
DHF is aligned with the UAE Vision 2021 that encompasses a cohesive society and preserved identity; safe public and fair judiciary; competitive knowledge economy; first-rate education system; worldclass healthcare; and sustainable environment and infrastructure.
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