The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a luncheon discussion with a public health delegation from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) on November 8 2023 in Washington, D.C. The delegation represented the DHA’s clinical audit and control, health promotion and education, and epidemiology sections. They are visiting the United States to meet with and learn best practices from the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Dr. Hend Alawadhi, Head of the Health Promotion and Education Sector at DHA, spoke about the purpose of the delegation’s visit and what they hoped to achieve from their meetings in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. She noted that the DHA’s priorities are in public health, health regulation, and health insurance, and they hope to expand partnerships in these areas with U.S. public sector entities and businesses. 

Dr. Alawadhi explained the DHA’s focus on integrating artificial intelligence with health, especially in genomics research, couples compatibility screenings, and communicable disease forecasting and protection. She pointed to the Emirati Genome Program as an existing project that could be expanded from a public and preventative health perspective by harnessing the power of AI, both for genetic analysis and awareness promotion. She stressed that their focus is on using AI for screening and prevention to “keep people out of the hospital” in the first place.

Dr. Ibrahim Qamber Al Blooshi, Head of the Disaster and Crisis Office at DHA, spoke about how the DHA’s reorganization efforts are in part aimed at situating emergency and disaster response as a public health concern. He discussed the delegation’s visit with FEMA and HHS, as well as their visits to other countries such as Singapore and South Korea, to learn about best practices in management and communications and alert systems in emergency services organizations. He stressed that the DHA is working to enhance the overall function of its public health services, including those dealing with food safety, emergency response, mental health, and communicable and non-communicable diseases. 

The delegation also highlighted the opportunity for collaboration around some of the U.A.E.’s major international exhibitions coming up through the next few months: COP 28 and Arab Health. Dr. Alawadhi noted that COP 28’s designation of the first-ever health-themed day at a COP conference has helped advance the understanding of the important links between climate change, environmental policy, and public health. She hopes that new strategies to address the health-related impacts of climate change will come out of COP 28 through international collaboration. Dr. Alawadhi forecasted the DHA’s presence at Arab Health, where they will be “coming back stronger than ever,” with discussions about public health and developments within DHA at the forefront of the conference. She committed to a roundtable discussion with U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council members at which they would present the “new DHA.”

Conversation also centered on building mental health treatment capacity in Dubai. Dr. Alawadhi referenced DHA’s current initiatives to train school health workers and university faculty with the tools to provide mental health counseling and care. She specifically noted that, during the delegation’s visit to HHS, she was impressed by the organization’s 24/7 call or text hotline for mental health challenges, a model she hopes to see implemented in Dubai. 

For questions about this event or the Business Council’s work in the healthcare sector, please contact Alyssa Kristeller at akristeller@usuaebusiness.org.