Month: June 2021

DUBAI, Noor Dubai Foundation renews its partnership with The Carter Centre to wipe out trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness, as part of its continued focus on the global fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Since 2013, the two organisations have assisted Ethiopia in the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in 29% of the Amhara region, known to be the most trachoma-endemic location in the world.

Dr. Manal Taryam, board member and CEO of the Noor Dubai Foundation, said, “In these modern times, no one should suffer from trachoma, an excruciating yet entirely preventable disease. Noor Dubai is proud to continue its partnership with The Carter Centre, Ethiopia Ministry of Health and the Amhara Regional Health Bureau and remains committed to empowering the communities to wipe out this ancient disease from the Amhara region.”

Trachoma is responsible for the visual impairment of an estimated 1.9 million people, of whom 1.2 million are irreversibly blind, with 136.9 million people worldwide living in trachoma-endemic districts. Trachoma can destroy the economic well-being of entire communities, keeping affected families trapped in poverty as the disease passes from one generation to the next.

Noor Dubai’s newest four-year commitment will contribute to the implementation of annual mass drug administration (MDA) in Amhara, which has safely resumed outreach after the COVID-19 pandemic briefly suspended most global health interventions in 2020.

Over the next four years, the Noor Dubai-Carter Centre collaboration aims to deliver 43 million doses of the antibiotic Zithromax (donated by Pfizer), projected to impact approximately 14.3 million people. This will contribute to Amhara’s effort to implement the World Health Organisation-endorsed SAFE strategy: Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, and Environmental improvement. Additionally, the partnership is slated to carry out prevalence surveys to assess impact and support training sessions for more than 74,000 local health workers by 2025.

Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Centre, said, “The elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in Amhara is difficult work that will not be completed quickly, and we are so grateful to have Noor Dubai’s commitment to stay by our side on this long road. We will reach the goal of elimination together, and when we do, we will celebrate together.”

The Carter Centre began scaling up programme activities in the region in 2003 in response to the enormity of the trachoma problem in the region. The newest chapter of the Noor Dubai-Carter Centre partnership builds on a collaboration that launched in 2013.

Together with the Ethiopia Ministry of Health, Amhara Regional Health Bureau, many other collaborating partners, and thousands upon thousands of frontline health workers, the Noor Dubai Foundation support has contributed to the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in 29% of the Amhara region; the delivery of 87 million doses of Pfizer-donated Zithromax; the completion of eyelid surgery for about 356,620 people to prevent irreversible blindness; and the trachoma training and capacity development of 49,816 health workers, 37,032 teachers, and 7,209 surgeons and supervisors.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said that the COVID-19 pandemic summoned extraordinary resilience across the world despite having caused unprecedented disruptions to people’s lives.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed’s remarks came in the foreword of the Emirates Group’s Annual Report – 2020-2021 where he described the pandemic as “one of the biggest challenges humanity has faced in its known history.”

Sheikh Mohammed added that the UAE’s fight against the pandemic has particularly been a story of strength, fortitude and endurance. “We have been tested in our ability to deal with this unforeseen situation, but we have emerged out of it tougher.

“In many ways, the UAE has proved to be one of best prepared countries to deal with this pandemic. Not only have we effectively safeguarded the health and wellbeing of citizens and residents, we have also weathered the economic impact of the crisis. The investments we made over the last few decades to create a world-leading infrastructure, thanks to the vision of our founding fathers, combined with our robust institutions and public services, have enabled us to counter the COVID-19 challenge.”

What has been truly remarkable, Sheikh Mohammed continued, is the way “all stakeholders in our society and economy have come together to mobilise the efforts and resources needed to combat the pandemic. The joint efforts of the public and private sectors in mounting a strong healthcare response is one of the examples of this spirit of solidarity.”

Consistent with this spirit, the Dubai government has placed a high priority on extending support measures to businesses to ensure the short-term impact of the pandemic does not translate into long-term challenges, he added.

“Going ahead, we continue to remain committed to helping all sectors in recovering on a solid footing. Amidst the pandemic, our model for finding solutions to challenges has been marked by cooperation, humanitarian values and rapid action. The response of Dubai’s aviation and logistics industry leaders to the disruption caused by COVID-19 is a key example of our nation’s ability to rise to the challenge in these testing times. Working unitedly, they have been quick to use their global capabilities not only to facilitate the rapid distribution of vaccines in the country but also send relief and humanitarian aid to developing nations.”

Underlining its essential economic role, Sheikh Mohammed said the “Emirates Group actively contributes to Dubai’s economic success and is central to our future growth and prosperity. I am confident the Group will continue its role as a world leading organisation shaping the future of global aviation, while also furthering the UAE’s vision and aspirations.”

Concluding, Sheikh Mohammed shed light on the nation’s Golden Jubilee and the impressive milestones achieved recently: “The UAE will mark 50 years of nationhood in December 2021. Growing from a modest regional trading post to a nation that sent the Arab world’s first space mission to Mars, the UAE’s development has been truly extraordinary. I look forward to our country achieving greater successes and accelerating our progress on the ambitious path set by our founding leaders. Their vision to drive human advancement and create a better world for future generations continues to inspire us.”

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) continues to provide oversight and inspection services on private medical and pharmaceutical facilities and medical advertisements to ensure that they are abiding by the ministry’s standards.

This comes as part of MoHAP’s strategy to provide a vital legislative framework and, governance, and distinctive regulatory and supervisory services to enhance the competitiveness and performance of the healthcare sector. It also falls within its strategy to implement the national standards, enhance the supervisory role on medical and pharmaceutical facilities.

The Ministry is also working to support this role by increasing its specialised medical cadres working as juridical officers and inspectors supported with the latest medical technologies which allow them to perform the mission swiftly and accurately.

Dr. Hessa Mubarak, Director of Health Empowerment and Compliance Department explained that the service includes checking up on some items related to the safety standards of medical and pharmaceutical facilities.

This includes ensuring that doctors and technicians are holding a valid licence, monitoring the storage conditions of medicines and pharmaceuticals, and ensuring compliance with medical and technical safety requirements for operating rooms and engineering standards while ensuring the provision of easy access to community members, especially the people of determination, and respecting patient privacy.

In addition to checking on the safety of vaccinations provided by medical facilities and the adherence to drug prices and not to dispense antibiotics without medical prescription, the service includes verifying the application conditions of infection control, sterilisation of medical tools, disposal of medical waste in accordance with local and international laws and standards, and not tampering with the records of dispensing controlled, semi-controlled drugs, and psychotropic substances.

During their periodic visits, the inspection teams check on the compliance of medical and pharmaceutical practices with that legislation and laws and prepare a report on the violations and measures taken. The inspection teams check back with these facilities to ascertain they have taken appropriate measures and have corrected the violations.

Dr. Mubarak added that the ministry also provides the possibility to complain about private health facilities and their staff via an advanced electronic system. The system makes it easier for the customers to follow up on the stages of the complaint while ensuring impartiality, confidentiality, and reliability of the information provided by them.

She went on to say that the ministry also provides a service to control medical advertisements published by private health facilities for marketing purposes, including licenced and unlicenced advertisements.

The licenced advertisements are monitored to ensure that they meet the conditions, laws, and regulations in force and comply with the terms of advertisement licensing and commitment in terms of advertisement form, advertisement language, format, duration, and others according to the executive regulations of Ministerial Resolution No. 430 of 2007. Dr. Mubarak noted that the ministry tends to follow phased measures starting from the warning to applying penal measures to violators.

“The ministry is very concerned about raising community members’ awareness about the balanced and licenced medical advertisement and avoiding misleading and anonymous advertisements that spread on social media platforms or fake websites. The ministry also works hard to prevent this phenomenon to preserve public health and protect society. This comes in line with Cabinet decisions, including Resolution No. 7 of 2007 regarding health advertisements, which aims to monitor advertisements for medical products to ensure that they are safe, meet approved standards, and are in line with professional ethics that enhance the health and safety of society, as well as Cabinet Resolution No. 44 of 2016 regarding fees for some services provided by the Ministry of Health,” she said in conclusion.

Source: Emirates News Agency