DUBAI // Low salaries and a lack of awareness are the major reasons why about 15 per cent of blue-collar workers suffer from diseases of the eye but ignore them until the symptoms become severe.
A healthcare provider that offers free eye tests and glasses to low-paid workers said more needed to be done to improve eye care.
Construction workers are constantly exposed to bright sunlight, construction materials, chemicals, dust and sand, said Alisha Moopen, executive director and chief executive of Aster Hospitals and Clinics, who believes that there is an urgent need for regular eye check-ups among workers, in addition to broader health screening.
Proving her point, bricklayer Ahmed Khan said he ignored itching in his right eye for a week, until the swelling and pain became unbearable.
“About a week ago, while working on a site, something got into my eye. Since then it has been reddish and is itching but I continued to work,” said the 25-year-old Pakistani.
“I didn’t go to the doctor because my medical card had expired and processing of the new card was taking time. I also could not afford to pay the doctor’s fee from my pocket. I took Panadol for my pain but it never helped.”
Mr Khan eventually found someone who offered to pay the doctor’s fee and the cost of medicine. “I am thankful to this lady who helped me,” he said. “I was so scared that I would become blind just because I don’t have money. How would I work and earn? I am the only breadwinner for my family back home.”
To help workers such as Mr Khan, Ms Moopen began a campaign – Nazar [eyesight in Hindi and Urdu] – in Dubai in September last year that provides medical assistance to workers unable to afford specialist care.
The campaign also provides glasses and other medical support to the men, free of charge. So far it has reached between 2,500 and 3,000 workers, with the goal for this year of offering check-ups to 7,000 men.
Tariq Javed, who has worked as a driver for a construction firm in Dubai for more than 17 years, said he knew his eyesight was getting worse by the day, affecting his driving. But he could not afford to buy glasses and his medical insurance did not cover the cost.
“For the last year, I’ve faced problems with my eyesight. I cannot see properly on roads, especially signboards,” the 45-year-old Pakistani said.
“I knew I needed glasses but I can’t afford to spend hundreds of dirhams on doctor’s fees and glasses. I was waiting for my annual leave so that I could get [glasses] from my home country, where it would be cheaper for me.”
Thankfully he found out about the Nazar campaign and Mr Javed now has the glasses he needs to do his job safely.
Ms Moopen said that the campaign had identified that about 15 per cent of workers have eye problems. She said that the workers’ need to send money home was to blame for many of them ignoring their ailments until it hindered their work.
Normal reading glasses cost about Dh200, a figure that Aster covers for workers in the continuing campaign.
“We were able to reach out to several companies in the past seven to eight months. The ultimate goal is to screen 7,000 workers. At the pace we have been going, I think by the end of the year we should be able to reach that,” Ms Moopen said.
Aster Hospitals and Clinics is offering the free services at Aster Jubilee Medical Complex, Bur Dubai, while the free glasses are provided by Aster Opticals, also in Bur Dubai.
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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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