DHA battled pandemic with information and quick action

I think the caring leadership made the real difference. If you think about it, the virus and the disease were pretty much the same in every country. They were a constant, but how countries responded to them varied.” Dr Alawi Al Sheikh-Ali | Deputy Director of Dubai Health Authority

Covid-19 was the ultimate test for the capabilities of Dubai Health Authority (DHA). Looking back now, it is safe to say the health regulator came out in flying colours.

As Dr Alawi Al Sheikh-Ali, Deputy Director of DHA, pointed out, it was all about orchestrating multi-pronged facets into a single cohesive whole. “It required alignment, support and coordination by everybody in the public and private sector. It had to be a community and government approach that worked,” he said.

“We at DHA planted some basic pillars of public health policies to control the pandemic,” he explained.

“These included fundamental public health and epidemiological principles of social distancing, wearing face masks etc. For those who had been in contact with Covid-19 positive patients, facilities for quarantine and isolation had to be set up and PCR testing facilities be made available. We had to lay out proper guidelines on how to handle

cases.”

A leadership that cares

Dr Al Sheikh-Ali attributed the speed of decision making to wise leadership. “I think the caring leadership made the real difference. If you think about it, the virus and the disease were pretty much the same in every country. They were a constant, but how countries responded to them varied.” He pointed out that the UAE’s leadership is very proactive. “This includes the leadership at the top governmental level, at the public sector regional level, heads of various sections, hospitals and health care centres. Everyone worked in tandem,” he said.

The financial factor

Dr Al Sheikh-Ali said that the government not only got health insurance on board to cover the pandemic but also eased the financial burden on hospitals by footing the bill for hospital treatment for both Emiratis and expats. The UAE Government also offered free vaccination to all residents.

Dr Al Sheikh-Ali described vaccines as the turning point in the battle against COVID-19. He said DHA is working with other government department to streamline health care as life returns to normal. “It is important that we balance our lives with livelihood. DHA has made sure we strike the right balance,” he said.

Going forward

Dr Al Sheikh-Ali said the Covid-19 battle is ongoing and how often people will require to be vaccinated is a decision that will be guided by science. He said the focus is to make sure that people have access to the vaccine. “This is true from a global health standpoint, any country in the world is as safe from the pandemic as the least safe country. Each country has therefore to work on achieving fully vaccinated status,” he said.