During the United Arab Emirate’s economic boom, Abu Dhabi and Dubai sought to bring the best of everything to their country — including healthcare. With open checkbooks, both the government and private investors sought to make the UAE a regional medical hub. While the development of the healthcare sector has left it with a strong infrastructure, problems continue to confront the industry; the same deep pockets which allowed the country to develop world-class medical centers also resulted in lifestyles that sent the obesity rate (and its associated diseases) skyrocketing, and while the global financial crisis which devastated some of the UAE’s economic sectors was not quite as severe to healthcare, the industry has felt a bit of a pinch. The UAE’s state news agency reported in December that the budget for state spending on healthcare was set for over $750 million, but the individual governments of each emirate — most
Josh Wood is a journalist based in Boston. He was previously based in Beirut, where he was a correspondent for The National. His work focuses on refugees, US foreign policy and conflicts in the Middle East.
