The Department of Health and Medical Services (DoHMS) and Emaar Healthcare Group (EHG), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Emaar Properties, have joined hands to set up an advanced Diabetes Centre in Dubai.

The duo have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Joslin Diabetes Centre and Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians, two prestigious global healthcare institutions, to work together in this regard.

DoHMS director general Qadhi Al Murooshid and EHG Executive Director Omar Al Shunnar signed the MoU with Judith Goodwin, Director, Affiliated Programs (on behalf of Joslin Diabetes Centre President and CEO Ranch C. Kimball) and Dr Mark Zeidel, the Herrman L. Blumgart Professor and Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians.

Upon signing of the final contract, the two organisations will share their globally-acclaimed best practices, especially in the field of diabetes, a pressing medical concern in the Gulf region, to EHG and DoHMS.

EHG had recently formed a public-private partnership with DoHMS to open world-class medical facilities. The advanced Diabetes Medical Centre is a key component of this partnership.

Al Murooshid said the partnership of DoHMS and EHG with Joslin and Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians will further strengthen its combined efforts to improve healthcare delivery in the region.

'The core competencies of these international organisations will help us to tackle disease conditions such as diabetes, which can be managed effectively through timely intervention and awareness. Our focus on diabetes, therefore, is the need of the hour,” he added.

He cited the latest research, carried out by specialists in the UAE as part of a project sponsored by the World Health Organisation, which said more than a quarter of UAE nationals suffer from diabetes.

The research also said over 40 per cent above the age of 60 had the disease in the UAE, he noted..

'It is also estimated that diabetes affects more than 20 per cent of the adult population in the UAE - four times more prevalent than worldwide figures,” said Al Murooshid.

Al Shunnar said the MoU reiterates the founding mission of EHG and commitment to the community to enhance the quality of life by ensuring that integrated healthcare services of international standards are accessible to the people.

He said the two organisations will devote their research capabilities on disease conditions such as diabetes, described as a silent killer, on which Joslin and Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians have made path-breaking research.

“The Central Statistics Department of the Ministry of Health reports that mortality due of diabetes mellitus constitutes 75 per cent of the deaths among UAE nationals and 31 per cent among non-nationals.'

This calls for effective public-private partnerships, which is another founding objective of EHG, he observed.

Since its founding in 1898, Joslin Diabetes Centre has constantly evolved to meet the ever-changing challenges of diabetes. 

Today, Joslin is the world’s largest diabetes center and is on the frontline of the world epidemic of diabetes, leading the battle to conquer the disease through cutting-edge research and innovative approaches to clinical care and education, he added. - TradeArabia News Service