The changing landscape of healthcare requirements in the UAE is being driven by a rise in lifestyle-related cancers in both men and women.
While breast cancer remains the biggest killer in women, colorectal cancer is on the rise in both sexes, largely due to a drastic change in diet.
The rapid rise of the UAE as a country has seen life become easier for many – but that has also meant the population has become more sedentary and rely more on processed food.
According to Health Authority Abu Dhabi figures, colorectal cancer is now the most common form of the disease in men, and fourth on the list for women, behind cancer of the breast, thyroid and cervix.
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“In Abu Dhabi, an ID card should not be issued to a woman without a mammogram and, at 40, people should have a colonoscopy to check for cancer as it is a condition that is increasing,” said Dr Falah Al Khatib, a consultant clinical oncologist at City Hospital, Dubai, who was involved in the management of nearly 6,000 cancer cases out of 8,000 registered at Tawam Hospital during his 11 years there.
“Along with cervical and breast cancer, colorectal is one of the three areas of cancer that can be effectively screened for.
“We’ve made good progress on two fronts but we need to be more organised to cover more areas.”
HAAD figures from 2014 show 65 per cent of cancer-related deaths were among the expat population, and 56 per cent of the total were men, and 44 per cent women.
“Colorectal cancer is rising in both men and women but it is the number one cancer in men due to a changing diet and lifestyle,” Dr Al Khatib said.
“The local UAE diet has changed from wheat, dates, yoghurt and fresh fruit and vegetables to a more Western diet, with more processed food, fatty meat with hormones.
“There has been rapid change. The type of food brings with it constipation and that brings more toxins into the body.
“More checks in place on what we are eating would help, as would more control though education in families.
“There is less physical exercise and life has become a lot easier. The success of the UAE is slowly killing the UAE.”
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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Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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