The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates established in 1971. In 2023, the total population of the UAE was 9.5 million people. The rapid growth of the UAE’s economy has positively influenced its health system. In 2022, life expectancy was 80 years, maternal mortality ratio was two per 100,000 live births, and infant mortality rates is four per 1000 live births). However, the UAE faces several challenges including rising rates of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Honoring a commitment to public and private health care
The UAE has a robust public health care system that includes its Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) and a developing private sector. As reported, MOHAP is a centralized management organization that oversees health care facilities throughout the seven emirates while each emirate manages, allocates resources for and regulates local facilities differently; Abu Dhabi and Dubai have their own authorities, and the Emirates Health Services regulates the remaining five emirates.
BMC Health Services Research provides an overview of care provided by the government and the private sector in the UAE. The UAE has 36 government and 79 private hospitals. Government facilities provide free care for UAE nationals and a low-cost option for non-UAE nationals. Given the high cost of private facilities, private health insurance was introduced as a reform to the health system to (1) enable residents to access private health care facilities at a low cost to them (the insurance is obligatory) and (2) minimize pressure on public hospitals. Three different insurance schemes are available: two for expatriates (basic and enhanced) and one for UAE nationals (Thiqa).
The UAE’s government is committed to building a world-class health system to improve the quality of health care and health outcomes for its population. To accomplish this objective, the government has implemented a series of comprehensive health care system reforms, including the introduction of mandatory private health insurance, the development of the private sector and the separation of planning and regulatory responsibilities from provider functions.
[1] World Health Organization, Global Health Expenditure Database (GHED), 2022
