Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, said that since the UAE’s establishment more than half a century ago, its wise leadership paid special attention to the development of the health sector, prioritising the health of citizens and residents as the key element for the progress and development of the country.
Therefore, it built modern hospitals and medical laboratories equipped with cutting-edge equipment that attracted the best medical expertise from around the world, he said in a statement to Al Jundi Journal published by the Ministry of Defence on the occasion of the World Health Day 2023.
Al Bowardi said the UAE worked hard to provide health guarantees for citizens and residents and set plans to confront epidemics, diseases, and health crises in cooperation with various international health institutions.
He affirmed that the great services provided by the UAE in the health sector locally and globally have left a special imprint, as they aim to protect people from diseases and epidemics without distinctions such as race, colour, or belief under the slogan “Health For All”.
Al Bowardi added that this year World Health Day is celebrated on 7th April under the slogan “Health for All” as we write the last chapter of the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the world’s crossing to safety.
He highlighted the UAE’s ability to confront health crises efficiently, in front of the international community, as it succeeded in managing the crisis locally with the utmost professionalism while making great efforts to help various countries around the world overcome the crisis. It was based on a sense of responsibility and commitment to human values, making the UAE a permanent global centre for the distribution of vaccines and medical and humanitarian aid, the minister stressed.
He continued, “the UAE is now at the forefront of the most critical global indicators, ranking 1st in the world in 14 health indicators in 2022, 2nd in the index of lack of health problems, and ranked 7th in the Health Infrastructure Conference.”
Furthermore, the UAE ranked first among the Arab and Gulf countries in six indicators, according to Bloomberg, and by the end of 2021, the UAE topped the countries of the world in dealing with the COVID pandemic and was among only seven countries in the world that have never dropped in ranking on the index since its inception, Al Bowardi pointed out.
Moreover, the UAE’s Armed Forces have always played a prominent role in supporting the health sector locally and had the honour of providing medical and humanitarian aid to those affected by crises and natural disasters in various regions of the world, he noted. “Perhaps the most prominent crisis is the earthquake that struck Syria and Turkiye recently, prompting the Ministry of Defence to rush to their aid through the Joint Operations Command’s operation “Chivalrous Knight”.
The Joint operations command is working tirelessly to provide every kind of possible assistance, including building field hospitals equipped with the latest medical devices and providing medicines and treatment for the injured through the most skilled doctors from the Medical Services Corps, the minister said.
