A sudden illness is always a challenge but conditions that last for months or years can put considerable stain on the sufferer, their family and society. As well as the physical and psychological consequences of chronic or drawn-out illnesses, the accompanying financial burden is often punishing. Treatment can require many trips to the doctor or hospital, repeated testing and expensive medicines or therapies.
Although the UAE has a solid reputation for cutting-edge health care, as can be seen in its ambitious and long-running Emirati Genome Project or Monday’s launch of a major new pharmaceutical manufacturing venture by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, the country is aware that relatively common and chronic ailments often present people with the greatest financial difficulties.
According to recent research from insurance company WTW, medical healthcare costs in the Middle East are to increase by 12 per cent this year. In the GCC, the picture is even more stark; a 2023 World Bank report highlighted data that estimated the direct medical costs of seven major noncommunicable diseases to be about $16.7 billion. Indirect costs from lost worker productivity were thought to be about $80 billion in 2019 alone.
Given such challenges, it is timely that Abu Dhabi this week unveiled a new endowment initiative aimed at supporting patients with chronic conditions. It is hoped that the campaign, launched under the slogan With You for Life, can raise Dh1 billion ($272 million) to cover treatment costs for people who are unable to pay while also supporting the research and development of pharmaceutical drugs.
The seriousness of the scheme’s intent can be seen in its financial model. Speaking to The National, Fahad Al Qassim, director general of the Abu Dhabi Endowments and Minors Funds Authority, said the fund – which will have a board of trustees, an investment committee and a spending committee – will spend its returns on treatment “which means that we have a sustainable financial instrument and product that gives returns every single year”.
It is an important addition to the UAE’s evolving welfare safety net. On January 1, a basic health insurance scheme for all private sector and domestic workers who did not have coverage went live, thereby establishing a nationwide standard for health insurance. Similarly, a national unemployment insurance scheme was introduced in late 2023, providing a financial safety net to Emiratis and UAE residents in the form of a cash payout for three months if their employment is terminated.
One thing these initiatives have in common is their particular importance for expat residents. As Mr Al Qassim noted: “This endowment caters for the weakest point in the community and a lot of those people are actually non-UAE nationals … UAE nationals today, at the end of the day, they do get the treatment from the government by the leadership.” Although no-one is denied emergency medical treatment in the UAE, the country’s progress in building a sense of national community is strengthened when people feel that they are secure, even at their weakest moments.
This is a journey in which everyone has their part to play. Private insurance companies can contribute by regarding health coverage as less a process of assessing risk and more along the lines of providing a social service. The private sector and general public also have a key role; the highly positive response to this year’s Fathers' Endowment scheme, an initiative to provide treatment and health care to the poor and needy raised more than Dh3.72 billion in donations.
There is no sign of the UAE’s commitment to advanced biosciences and ground-breaking research waning any time soon. That additional plans are in place to support people with more routine – although no less distressing – conditions is a positive step for the future.
