UAE's COVID-19 Response Based on Continuous Assessment and Evaluation, says the Official Spokesperson for UAE Healthcare Sector

• Dr. Farida Al Hosani has outlined the UAE’s response to COVID-19 centred on five pillars: healthcare readiness, adopting technologies, unified communication, effective collaboration and emergency response system

• In total, 134 countries benefited from aid from the UAE and US$10 million in-kind aid to the World Health Organisation

• Medlab Middle East which continues live and in-person on 24 June in Dubai

During the COVID-19 Special Edition Conference at Medlab Middle East, Dr Farida Al Hosani, Official Spokesperson for the UAE Healthcare Sector, discussed the UAE’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Special Edition Conference

She highlighted that the UAE’s COVID-19 response was based on continuous assessment and evaluation of the epidemiological status and dynamic action to minimise the impact of the disease. The UAE’s response was centred on five pillars: healthcare readiness, adopting technologies, unified communication, effective collaboration and having an emergency response system.

Addressing the audience via video link, Dr Al Hosani, who is also the director of the Communicable Diseases Department of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC), explained that the UAE’s preparedness to deal with infectious diseases began long before COVID-19, helping to create an agile healthcare infrastructure to deal with the pandemic.

Dr. Al Hosani said, “The adoption of technologies helped the country rapidly upgrade its testing capabilities and diagnostic methods. Unified communication methods were successfully used to build a level of trust between the people and the government. Collaboration between different sectors and institutions, both private and public, has been tremendous and is one of the main success factors in dealing with the pandemic."

“The UAE’s emergency response system is also very mature and well established, and has been ranked at the top of the global list of emergency preparedness for the handling of the pandemic.”

Some of the key success drivers of the UAE’s response to the pandemic include improving monitoring and early detection by expanding the number of surveillance team field medical teams, investing in laboratory capabilities to accelerate testing by adopting the world’s first Laboratory Business Management System and establishing drive-through centres across the country, establishing a Home Isolation Programme to provide a better experience for patients, adopting a dynamic dashboard for monitoring the performance of the pandemic measures and overall health system, and a heat map initiative for focused testing and screening in high-risk areas.

“The UAE’s experience with the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials is one to be learned from as it successfully instilled confidence in the population and prepared them for the rollout of the vaccine,” Dr. Al Hosani explained. “The awareness and education campaigns carried out in the UAE were one of the main reasons behind 60% of the population receiving their vaccinations to date, including 90% of those over 60 years.”

In conclusion, Dr Al Hosani highlighted the UAE’s role in supporting the international community in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The UAE has delivered 1,789 tons of medical supplies, including 4.25 million PCR testing kits and 2,060 ventilators. In total, 134 countries benefited from aid from the UAE and US$10 million in-kind aid to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Coinciding with Arab Health, Medlab Middle East will continue on Thursday 24 June at the Dubai World Trade Centre, attracting a range of key laboratory and trade professionals from across the region for the live and in-person event and featuring keynote speeches and scientific lectures, industry briefings, product demonstrations and networking opportunities, as well as a series of pre-arranged one-to-one meetings, with an emphasis on creating lasting relationships.

Rejoy Penacerrada, Conference Director for Informa Markets, said, “Delegates from across the region will convene tomorrow for the final day of the Medlab Congress. This year’s Blood Transfusion Conference will look to deep dive into session topics such as the insights on COVID-19 and the implication on blood services, donors and donations while the Molecular Diagnostics Conference is set to discuss molecular diagnostic techniques, Next Generation Sequencing and genomic testing, for example.”

A virtual showcase of Medlab Middle East will continue until 22 July.