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Staff at the UAE’s field hospital in the Gaza Strip have been donating their blood to help provide critical medical aid to civilians affected by the Israel-Gaza war, The National can reveal.
More than 48,000 injured Palestinians have been treated at the 200-bed complex in Rafah city since it opened in December.
As part of the UAE's Gallant Knight 3 operation, it continues to provide care for those injured in the war.
Dr Sultan Al Kaabi, the hospital's director, told The National the medical team had conducted five donation campaigns to provide blood to hospitals across the enclave since it opened.
“The Emirati blood has mixed with the Palestinian blood in one vein,” he said.
Dr Al Kaabi said his team were determined to continue delivering services to alleviate the dire healthcare situation in the region, offering much-needed support to civilians caught in the crossfire.
“We received 48,704 patients and conducted 1,773 surgeries. Our goal is to provide immediate relief to the people of Gaza. We are here to offer our expertise and resources to save lives and improve the health conditions in this critical time,” Dr Al Kaabi added.
The Emirati doctor, 47, who has spent more than six months working at the hospital, expressed immense pride at being able to "serve my brothers in such difficult situations".
“You feel pride knowing you've helped many patients in these critical times," he said.
“Many people who leave the hospital after treatment come back to thank us and the UAE for what we have done.”
World-leading technology
The field hospital, which was swiftly assembled by a team of medical professionals and support staff, is equipped with advanced medical technology and supplies.
It specialises in general and orthopaedic surgery and offers anaesthetic services and intensive care for children and adults. It also provides internal medicine, dentistry, family medicine and psychiatric treatment.
Launched after an order by President Sheikh Mohamed after the bulk of Gaza's hospitals were destroyed or left in a state of dysfunction, the state-of-the-art medical complex has the capacity for most types of complex surgery to be carried out, as well as intensive care units and wards, Dr Al Kaabi said.
"We can receive 200 people for trauma and general cases. We have a pharmacy, lab, blood bank and have added a neurosurgery and physiotherapy department," he said.
“We also have a department for mental and physical rehabilitation.”
There is also capacity for people to be fitted with prosthetic limbs, Dr Ak Kaabi said. He explained that the hospital is equipped with SpaceX's Starlink internet service to provide live video medical consultations to patients.
The use of Elon Musk's high-tech satellite system helps healthcare workers deliver crucial care in an area where communications have been cut.
“We added the service to co-operate with Emirati hospitals and specialists from different countries,” he added. "We get consultations about certain cases that we don’t have speciality [for] here in Gaza to provide the best treatment.
As the hospital grew, the Emirati team built storage areas for equipment and medicine that can last for more than 60 days.
The hospital also provides support and medical aid to other hospitals in Gaza, as most are on the brink of collapse.
Saving lives
Dr Al Kaabi has saved many lives but one particular case touched his heart.
“A young man came after a strike and he'd lost two lower limbs. We saved his life after amputating his legs,” he said.
Having previously told Dr Al Kaabi he would rather die than live without the use of his legs, he later thanked the medic for his team's life-saving care.
“He told me he is very happy to walk again to help his mother and family. That was my reward for helping people,” Dr Al Kaabi said.
The doctor, who is a father of three boys and one girl, said his family support him on this mission and his mother calls him regularly to provide encouragement.
“My mother is always telling me to do my job,” he explained. "She keeps telling me that they will take care of my family back home, but I need to stay and help people in Gaza. They are very proud that I’m here."
More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, with 90,147 injured in Gaza since the war began on October 7, after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.
The war has driven about 80 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million residents from their homes – with many displaced numerous times – and destroyed apartments, hospitals, mosques and schools.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
