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HEALTHCARE
Image Courtesy: Discover Middle East
A Healthy
Alliance
How German expertise is helping to shape
healthcare in the UAE. - By Susan Worth
Germany is known worldwide for its excellent quality of healthcare. Not
only does it offer some of the highest standards of medical care, but also
exceptional preventive therapy and rehabilitation, making it Europe’s
leading destination for medical tourism.
The number of Arabs travelling to Germany for medical reasons has been
increasing steadily, with the number of patients from the UAE doubling in
the last five years.
The GCC healthcare market is set to triple within the coming years, to reach
US $55 billion (Dh 2.2 billion) in 2020, according to a report by KFH Research
Limited. This year-on-year growth of 9 per cent demonstrates the immense
potential the region has for all aspects of medical provisioning, such as
knowledge transfer, training, the building of clinics and hospitals and the
import and export of medical supplies and pharmaceutical products.
The UAE is among the leaders in promoting private sector investment and
supporting international investment in the healthcare sector in the country.
It is also among the world’s Top 20 in healthcare spending per capita. This
gives hospitals in the UAE the financial leverage to attract the world’s best
talent and acquire state-of-the-art medical equipment.
Germany has played an important role in shaping the UAE’s healthcare
system, working closely with health authorities to put in place systems that
meet the needs of the changing population. There has been a continual
increase in the number of qualified medical personnel and technology from
Germany in the UAE. “You need systems to be developed, and most of the
health authorities in the UAE are working on this. You need staff capacity
and, as there is a high turnover of staff across this region, the system can
become a little destabilized,” says Dr Cornelius Oepen, Senior Business
Developer Health, GIZ International Services.
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