United Arab Emirates leads per capita health expenditure in the Gulf
According to the results of the first National Health Account (NHA) balance sheet for 2017, which was presented today by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Gulf country is the country that invests the most in health per capita of all Arab countries.
The study has been carried out between the ministry itself and the World Health Organisation, as well as other health authorities in the country, and was presented virtually by the Minister of Health himself and other authorities of the United Arab Emirates government. The fact that this Gulf country is positioned above other powers in the region shows that the Emirate Health System and its financing system are sustainable and effective.
The aim of this study was also to analyse the points where it is possible to improve the sustainability of the system in order to improve planning and resource allocation, according to Al Olama, the undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Health.
Per capita health expenditure grew by 26 per cent between 2016 and 2017, from $1,323 to $1,669, bringing total health expenditure to 4 per cent of GDP, half a percentage point higher than the previous year.
Several of the participants highlighted the importance of the health sector in the country strategy of the United Arab Emirates, which is part of this Future Vision Strategy for the country's centenary in 2071.
The 14.3% increase in health spending from one year to the next shows how the country is holding firm to its intention to generate a health platform that pays special attention to spending according to diseases in order to identify what the risks are for the population and where more resources should be allocated, so that spending can be carried out as efficiently as possible.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the first countries in the world to have approved a coronavirus vaccine, having opted for the one provided by the Chinese company Sinopharm, although it is also testing the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.