Healthcare leaders praise the UAE for successfully hosting the Expo 2020 Dubai

DUBAI: The UAE’s COVID resilience can be credited to the nation’s already-established openness to innovation, collaboration and partnerships in healthcare, as well as the government’s commitment to its community, which led to swift decision-making and enabled the safe and successful hosting of the most significant global gathering since the start of the pandemic.

Speaking at the Health & Wellness Week Business Forum, health and pharmaceutical leaders agreed the UAE’s approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic enabled the safe opening and operations of Expo 2020 Dubai – the first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia – which welcomed more than 11.6 million visits as of January 31.

The UAE’s robust infrastructure of healthcare laws, legislation, policies and regulations meant the leadership was confident that the pandemic could be effectively managed, as His Excellency Dr. Amin Hussain Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary of Health Regulations Sector, UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention explained: “The UAE government’s support of healthcare services and commitment to the community is great. [When faced with the pandemic] His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, told the entire UAE ‘latsheloon ham’, which means ‘do not worry.’”

His Excellency Dr. Amin Hussain Al Amiri described the country’s rapid response throughout the pandemic, “We secured approval for the Moderna vaccine within four hours, and we were the only country in the Middle East and North Africa that started clinical trials for the Sinopharm vaccine. The beauty of this country was that we had great support from the community as well, with 54,000 volunteers in the trials… and people of over 200 nationalities living here, all of whom adhered to the guidelines and rules. You helped us make sure that we were able to protect your health – and this is what set Expo 2020 up for success, with millions coming to visit.”

Collaboration with the pharmaceutical sector was also critical in the process.

Gizem Akalin, Vice President & General Manager – Gulf, Glaxosmithkline, said, “Partnerships make for successful management not only of pandemics, but different diseases or prevention of diseases in general, and the UAE provided a great example of this. It was the second country in the world to give access to a medicine that was a life-saving product, within 24 hours – a great illustration of how a government can partner with the pharmaceutical industry to create a solution.”

In healthcare, an environment that welcomes innovation is key, with speakers noting that the pandemic had significantly reduced the average time frame for a new medicine to be put in the market from eight to 12 years two decades ago.

Mohamed Ez Eldin, President & Head, Gulf Cluster, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said, “The UAE has created an environment where there is access to innovation. A great example was a partnership that multinational companies had with the Ministry of Health and Prevention to ensure that vaccines are available in UAE almost at the same time that they were available in the country of manufacturing.

“Hand-in-hand with the availability of vaccines is awareness – making sure the public understands the importance of getting vaccinated and seizes the opportunity to do so as soon as possible. We worked with the Ministry of Health and Prevention on programmes to drive this awareness.”

Ez Eldin also praised the efforts of the UAE to maintain and strengthen its other healthcare services during the pandemic: “From the very beginning, pharmaceutical companies were encouraged by the Ministry of Health and Prevention to sign MoUs [memorandum of understanding] to set patient support programmes, educating patients on how to manage pre-existing diseases during the pandemic, such as how to self-administer essential injections at home. These programmes played an extremely important role in educating the public not only to manage their health-related to the pandemic but their other diseases as well.”

The Business Forum was held in association with the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, as part of Health and Wellness Week – one of 10 Theme Weeks held under the Expo 2020’s Programme for People and Planet. Available to watch on-demand at www.virtualexpodubai.com, the programme offers an exchange of inspiring new perspectives to address the greatest challenges and opportunities of our time.

Source: Expo 2020 Website