Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, on Monday issued directives to grant golden visas to nurses who have served with Dubai Health for more than 15 years.
He said nursing staff are at the forefront of the healthcare system and are essential in building a healthier society. Sheikh Hamdan also praised their dedication to patient care and commitment to the well-being of others, Dubai Media Office reported.
Golden visas are 10-year residency permits given to people who have made an outstanding contribution to the country, have highly prized skills or work in industries that are crucial to economic growth.
The directive came on International Nurses Day, which is observed annually on May 12. Elsewhere in Dubai on Monday, a nursing conference was hosted by the Ministry of Health and Prevention and Emirates Health Services. It addressed the growing problem of attracting new recruits to the profession.
While the number of available nurses has increased from 27.9 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023, the world’s population has grown alongside a demand for care. Analysts forecast nursing access will continue to deteriorate and increased the predicted shortage by 2030 from 10 million to 11 million.
Dr Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organisation’s eastern Mediterranean director, said the region was braced to take on a quarter of the global shortfall by 2030. “Progress is off-track and, without targeted action, nursing workforce gaps will persist beyond 2030, especially in the most vulnerable regions,” she said.
“We face tough realities: deteriorating working conditions, gaps in education and training, weak regulation, deep inequities and the immigration of nurses. To make matters worse, more than 60 per cent of global attacks on health care occur in our region. We urgently need targeted, high-impact and sustainable investments in jobs, education, leadership and service delivery.”
