UAE To Join International Community In Celebrating ‘World Health Day’

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 06th Apr, 2021) Tomorrow, the world will observe "World Health Day" amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic being witnessed by the entire world, which was described by the United Nations (UN) as the greatest challenge facing humanity since World War II.

On World Health Day, 7 April 2021, WHO will invite the international community to join a new campaign to build a fairer, healthier world. As COVID-19 has highlighted, some people are able to live healthier lives and have better access to health services than others - entirely due to the conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age.

All over the world, some groups struggle to make ends meet with little daily income, have poorer housing conditions and education, fewer employment opportunities, experience greater gender inequality, and have little or no access to safe environments, clean water and air, food security and health services.

This is not only unfair: it is preventable. That’s why we are calling on leaders to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health. At the same time WHO urges leaders to monitor health inequities, and to ensure that all people are able to access quality health services when and where they need them.

COVID-19 has hit all countries hard, but its impact has been harshest on those communities which were already vulnerable, who are more exposed to the disease, less likely to have access to quality health care services and more likely to experience adverse consequences as a result of measures implemented to contain the pandemic.

The world is mobilising all its capacities and medical and health teams to address the pandemic, which is a humanitarian catastrophe, with the number of cases reaching nearly 131.57 million people in over 210 countries and total deaths accounting for 2,995,975 people.

The success of the UAE’s health sector in addressing the coronavirus has highlighted its level of readiness, ranking the country second in the world in terms of vaccine distribution, and enabling it to lead the tables on the percentage of the coronavirus tests conducted relative to the population.

Currently, the total number of vaccine doses provided by the country is 8,596,722, a rate of 86.92 doses for every 100 persons, and the total number of coronavirus tests conducted is 38,788,906.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the UAE has taken extraordinary measure and harnessed all necessary resources and tools to overcome the hardest period. It launched the "National Sterilisation Programme" and was among the first countries to introduce innovative treatments for the virus, such as stem cells treatment. Moreover, the UAE was among the first countries in the world to launch a free national vaccination programme for all citizens and residents.

The UAE has intensified its medical research efforts and established advanced partnerships with global medical companies and prominent research centres to address the pandemic. Under this framework, it hosted phase III of the clinical trials of the "Sinopharm" and "Sputnik" vaccines.

In March 2021, the UAE announced that it will start producing the "Hayat-Vax" coronavirus vaccine, which will be the first locally-made vaccine in the region. Moreover, the country announced the launch of a research and development centre specialising in life and biotechnology sciences and vaccine production, the first of its kind in the Arab region.

The UAE is ranked first globally in terms of the number of accredited health establishments, including hospitals, with 85 percent of Emirati hospitals having obtained the JCI accreditation.

The WHO highlighted the fact that the UAE leads the middle East in 19 indexes related to addressing public health risks.

The health sector is the fastest-growing sector in the UAE, and the investment growth rate in the health sector is projected to pass 300 percent in the next decade.

The UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda aims to implement a health system in line with the highest international standards and aims to ensure prevention and reduce rates of cancer and other lifestyle-related diseases, such as diabetes.