How UAE stayed ahead of the curve during pandemic
MINISTER HAILS QUICK DECISION-MAKING, TESTING AND PUBLIC COOPERATION
Prompt decisionmaking, preparedness, extensive testing, robust public-private partnership and above all, cooperation by residents from 200-plus nationalities helped the UAE stay ahead of the curve during the pandemic, UAE’s heath minister said yesterday.
Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais, Minister for Health and Prevention, was speaking at the Virtual Health Forum of the World Government Summit’s online series on Covid-19 and government.
“It’s the first time in history when the world has had to get together to defend humanity against one single enemy. The biggest lesson learnt so far is that we are one humanity and none of us is safe until all of us are safe,” he said. “The pandemic has also given us a wonderful opportunity to get together, revise our priorities and put focus on the health sector.”
Early action plan helped
In terms of preparedness, the UAE was able to quickly convert huge exhibition centres into field hospitals. It set up quick drive-through centres for testing that helped in early diagnosis, contact tracing and isolation of patients displaying an efficient contingency plan, Al Owais said.
“While most countries have a contingency plan in place for all kinds of crises, I don’t think anyone in the world was prepared for what it is currently going through,” he added.
Tracking the pandemic
Al Owais said: “In the UAE, we were tracking the situation from the first week of January, even before WHO announced that there was something serious going on in China. We started planning even when things were not clear. We worked on methodology, approach and application of different ideas, taking quick decisions, guided by our dynamic leadership. One of them was the success we had with our extensive testing.
3m tests completed
“We completed three million tests which amounts to nearly one third of our population. This is a very high percentage, and we are still going ahead with our testing although the number of infections is going down, because we want to secure our nation.”
Dr Owais also added that as the world struggled with a shortage of medicines, the UAE was able to send personal protective equipment and other supplies to needy countries.
Misinformation a challenge
He said one of the key lessons that the UAE learnt during the pandemic concerned the impact of social media. “The disinformation from social media was so challenging and we had to be very quick in responding. We are still learning how to utilise the full power of social media.
“Disinformation created a mess that put a great burden on the government. I think we need to discuss how to maximise the benefits from social media,” he noted.
Health and economy
Dr Owais stressed that the battle was far from over and there were important takeaways for the country.
“The two most important sectors in society are health and economy. People can go through difficult times, but we have to balance both and
The biggest lesson learnt so far is that we are one humanity and none of us is safe until all of us are safe. The pandemic has given us a wonderful opportunity to get together, revise our priorities and focus on the health sector.”
Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais | Minister for Health and Prevention
continue with life. We have to learn to adjust to the new normal — wearing masks, social distancing, temperature checks … Of course, the advantage we have today is that we know more about the virus than we ever did earlier.”
Other speakers
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general delivered the keynote address. Other panelists included Lena Hallengren, Sweden’s health minister; Bent Hoie, Norway’s health minister and Dr David Nabarro, Special UN secretary General for Food Security and Nutrition.
Dr Mansour Habib, family medicine and occupational health consultant, mediated the panel discussion.