A fitness centre built with funds donated by star Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi has become a crucial cog in the wheel of rehabilitation for Dubai patients suffering from long Covid.
The Pakistan Association Dubai-run clinic has treated more than 5,000 patients since opening in October, with growing demand for specialist care to help those hit hard by the virus get back on their feet.
Afridi – known in the game as Boom Boom because of his big-hitting heroics – endorsed the fundraising project to develop the Dh20 million ($5.4m) centre with charity events and auctions.
Rehabilitation from Covid is a learning process and we are only now beginning to understand the full impact
Dr Sadaf Jalil Ahmed
The cricketer raised and donated Dh1 million to the project, which allowed a sports fitness centre to open in his name. The centre has become crucial to the recovery of Covid patients.
“We started this project of providing free medical camps every month in 2009,” said Dr Muhammad Nasim Sabir, a clinical microbiologist at the Pakistan Medical Centre.
“Since then we have served more than 30,000 patients with only community help. It is a service for anyone who can not afford care, or whose insurance does not cover their treatment or medication.”
After installing isolation rooms to comply with new pandemic regulations, the clinic opened its doors to the public in October.
The centre has since come into its own, offering free support to those struck down by the virus requiring physiotherapy who may not otherwise have been able to afford rehab.
“We are trying to promote healthy living through our social media videos and medical consultations, as we know that is an effective way to avoid and survive Covid,” Dr Sabir said.
“The gym and rehabilitation unit has become very important in that. We were struggling to raise enough funds for the medical centre, so Shahid Afridi’s contribution was critical to the role this centre is playing now.
“The Dh1 million donation paid for a gym, not just to help with rehab, but also as a revenue stream for the hospital by providing membership options.”
Finance generated from gym memberships, which cost from Dh90 a month, are invested back into the centre to subsidise health care. The gym has attracted more than 90 members.
Health care at the Pakistan Medical Centre is either free or offered at around 80 per cent less than at most other hospitals.
A pool of 24 volunteer doctors give up their time and work unpaid to treat uninsured patients, while 43 full-time staff manage daily operations.
Around 90 per cent of donations come from the Pakistan community, but any nationality can visit for treatment.
One 84-year-old Canadian woman spent 24 days in intensive care after contracting Covid-19.
While unwilling to be named, MV said the rehabilitation she received at the PMC allowed her to recover enough to fly home to Canada.
“I came to this clinic in a wheelchair and now I’m running so it has been a really good experience,” she said.
“The doctor makes me work but it has helped me regain my strength. The whole concept of the gym and physio room has been perfect for my recovery.”
The centre has an annual operational budget of Dh3.8 million and aims to be self-sufficient within four years.
The Own a Brick campaign raised funds by encouraging the community to buy into the centre with donations from Dh200 to Dh1,000, which bought them association membership.
Clinical manager Dr Sadaf Jalil Ahmed volunteered for three months at the sharp end of the pandemic in Warsan, working on Covid isolation wards for 92 days from the end of March 2020.
“Rehabilitation from Covid is a learning process and we are only now beginning to understand the full impact on the general patient population,” she said.
“People have not been to see their doctor for some time and may have been living with high blood pressure or other potential problems like uncontrolled diabetes that can lead to kidney failure.
“Some have lost their jobs and would not otherwise be able to access health care without this centre.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Brief scoreline:
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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.”
