For more than half a century, Moza Al Mansoori has practised a time-honoured form of medicine that predates hospitals and clinics in the Emirates.
She was only 17 when her uncle began to teach her about the rejuvenating power of healing that was to shape her future.
Now 68, she believes she is the only traditional healer practising in Liwa, with people travelling deep into the desert from all over the country to benefit from skills honed over decades.
Twice a week, people come to her for conditions ranging from back pain and liver problems to sore throats in children. Women struggling to conceive also seek her help.
“This role has been around for generations,” she said. “It is a forefathers' trade. We never had doctors or medicines – this is what we used to do.”
Her healing knowledge encompasses Al Wasm, or cauterisation; Al Mas’h, a form of manual healing therapy; and pressure-point treatments.
Emirati traditional medicine is typically practised in private homes and on farms and passed from one generation of healers to the next.
Embracing tradition
The UAE is at the forefront of a healthcare revolution, harnessing cutting-edge technologies and investing in AI to help drive up standards.
But while it is looking to the future, authorities are eager to learn lessons from the past and recognise the key role holistic health care still has to play.
The government has established the UAE Integrative Medicine Council to support efforts to integrate traditional medicines into the national healthcare system.
For generations, Emirati traditional medicine has been sustained through the knowledge and experience of healers, passed down through communities and preserved through practice.
Sheikha Salama bint Tahnoon, chairwoman of the UAE Integrative Medicine Council, is working to build on strong foundations by creating a framework that allows such knowledge to contribute to modern health care.
It is an approach that has allowed traditional and integrative medical practices in other parts of the world to gain institutional recognition within healthcare systems, and one Emirati traditional medicine practice is now beginning to follow suit.
Vision for the future
“As the UAE strengthens this field and supports its growth, the council is focused on establishing the regulatory, research and academic foundations that allow priority practice areas, including Emirati traditional medicine, to develop with clarity, credibility and a sustainable vision that supports improved health and well-being outcomes,” Sheikha Salama said.
At its second meeting in Abu Dhabi recently, the council set out priority practices including acupuncture, Ayurveda, chiropractic, osteopathy and Al Mas’h.
“Through direct engagement with Emirati traditional medicine healers, we are supporting the documentation and study of traditional knowledge and practices within clear scientific and regulatory frameworks. This approach enables a deeper understanding of this heritage and a systematic assessment of its potential within the future of integrative healthcare in the UAE,” she added.
The council also endorsed a regulatory framework covering six areas: standards of care, scope of practice, practitioner licensing and regulation, pharmaceutical and product regulation, facility licensing and regulation, and the official recognition and formalisation of integrative medicine practices.
Supporting patients
Dr Fatima Al Kaabi, director general of the Emirates Drug Establishment and a member of the UAE Integrative Medicine Council, said such medicines can be instrumental in helping patients.
“In the UAE, we have our culture and our identity that we want to preserve. The question is how we can apply these practices through methodologies that also allow us to measure their outcomes and build real-time evidence,” she said.
“With partnerships across all sectors – including education, health and the community – we can see how integrative medicine can become part of the daily lives of people in the UAE, while ensuring it is applied according to the right standards and that we can measure its impact.”
Internationally, similar principles have shaped the integration of traditional therapies into modern healthcare systems.
Acupuncture is one example. Through scientific research, clinical evaluation and regulation, a traditional practice has evolved into one that is used within modern healthcare systems in many countries.
The UAE has adopted a similar evidence-based approach, recognising acupuncture as a priority practice while putting in place a framework intended to ensure safety, quality and scientific rigour.
Moving into the mainstream
The challenge is particularly significant because traditional Emirati healing has largely existed outside the formal medical system.
Healers do not currently operate under conventional medical licensing structures, although some say they would welcome formal recognition, regulation and a dedicated centre where traditional practices could be offered in a structured setting.
Traditional healers often speak of particular areas or points of the body that they believe correspond to different conditions.
Deep-rooted tradition
Saif Al Shamsi, who specialises in cauterisation, said expertise lies in knowing precisely where the treatment should be applied.
“There are specific points in the body, so it must be an expert who knows exactly where to burn,” he said.
Mr Al Shamsi said he believes strongly in the practice because of its long history. “Of course, I believe in it, because they have been doing it for 1,400 years – not yesterday,” he said. “When we burn the affected area of the body, the entire immune system will jump start to treat that area – hence healing your ailment.”
The council’s evidence-based framework is designed to assess such practices through rigorous research and systematic documentation, while enabling their clinical validation and regulation.
Mr Al Shamsi said that during a period when hepatitis A and B were widespread, many people sought treatment from him. “I had at least 60 cases come to me per day,” he said. In some cases, doctors had advised people to seek a traditional healer, he added.
Ms Al Mansoori also recounts cases that have strengthened her belief in traditional medicine.
“I had a father call me saying that his son was in the ICU and doctors didn’t know what was wrong,” she said.
Ms Al Mansoori said she went to the hospital carrying a small bottle of olive oil and treated the boy. A few days later he was discharged, she said.
Traditional healers themselves also say they do not see their role as replacing doctors or hospitals. “If it needs a doctor, then go to a hospital. If not, then try a traditional healer,” Ms Al Mansoori said.
That link between inherited experience and scientific evidence is central to the work now being undertaken by the council.
A gathering held alongside the second council meeting brought together the largest number of Emirati traditional healers for direct dialogue.
The meeting gave healers an opportunity to explain their knowledge and practices and discuss how they might feature in the national healthcare system.
The council also organised a dedicated workshop in collaboration with Zayed Complex for Herbal Research and Traditional Medicine, bringing together healers specialising in Al Mas’h.
The workshop was intended as a first step towards developing a preliminary framework and supporting a broader project to codify Al Mas’h as an Emirati traditional medicine practice.
For Sheikha Salama, the aim is not simply to preserve old practices, but to create a system capable of assessing them properly and ensuring their relevance for years to come.
Ms Al Mansoori said that the journey began more than 50 years ago, when she learnt the craft from her uncle. The knowledge still brings people to her door and she believes it will continue to do so for decades to come.
