Monday, Jan 25, 2016

Dubai: Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, inaugurated the 41st edition of Arab Health Exhibition and Congress 2016.

Shaikh Hamdan, who was accompanied by Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Humaid Al Qutami, chairman and director general of Dubai Health Authority (DHA), marked the inauguration by visiting the DHA’s stand. He was briefed about DHA health applications, the latest medical tourism updates and the initiation of a medical portal that would compile all statistics on public and private hospitals, incidence of diseases, infection outbreaks and immunization programmes to keep track health care at the click of a button.

One of the highlights of the opening day was the announcement of the world’s largest wellness centre by the Dubai Health Care City (DHCC). Aligning with the overall health-care strategy of augmenting medical tourism in Dubai, Dubai Health Care City (DHCC) announced the opening of the world’s largest wellness centre within the next four years in Phase II of DHCC in Al Jaddaf, Dubai at the 41st Arab Health Arab Health Exhibition and Congress 2016.

This will focus on preventive care and control of lifestyle diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol that have caused a drastic drop in the quality of health of residents.

Strategically located on the waterfront, the WorldCare Wellness Village will occupy an area equivalent to roughly the size of 16 football fields, and is estimated to be significantly larger in scale and offerings than current wellness properties in Europe and the US.

The Wellness Village concept contributes to the vision of Dubai Healthcare City to become an internationally recognised location of choice for quality health care and wellness services. With DHCC’s Phase 2 expansion, over an area of 22 million square feet, the free zone will drive the global trend of preventive health care, taking into account local and regional health-care demands and demographic changes.

Making the announcement on the sidelines of Arab Health 2016, Badar Hareb, CEO of DHCC’s investment arm, said: “Wellness is a concept that goes beyond health and we want to create a healthy lifestyle for people that will include health, fitness facilities such as jogging tracks, nutrition advice, alternative therapies, and preventive care with advanced diagnostic screening. We hope to attract a lot of patient footfall from the Mena region and GCC.”

Dr Raja Al Gurg, vice-chairperson and executive director of Dubai Healthcare City Authority, said, “By enabling access to wellness services, we are strengthening the health system and bringing patient-centred care to the forefront. We are confident that Phase 2 will drive wellness tourism together with medical tourism, boosting Dubai’s diversified economy.”

Nasser Menhall, chief executive officer and co-founder of WorldCare International that is developing the project, said: “We expect the revenue per patient to be $15,000 (Dh55,094) per annum and are hoping that, like the West, insurance companies will include wellness as part of their cover because every dollar spent on preventive care saves several thousand dollars spent later on managing a full onset of a disease.”

The WorldCare Wellness Village will be anchored by a 100,000 square feet Wellness Centre and will occupy 810,000 square feet of built up area that will include customised living spaces such as residential villas and apartments, as well as rental units to support long-term stay for both local and foreign patients.

Another attraction this year at the Congress is the 3D printing technology stall that is proving to be a great hit. The technology creates 3D models of human organs such as heart, lung and face that has proved to be a revolutionary medical advancement.

Arab Health Exhibition and Congress, the region’s largest event and the second largest event of its kind in the world, will run from January 25-28 and over 115,000 people from over 161 countries are attending the event. More than 4,000 stalls have been set up exhibiting the latest in gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics, telehealth, robotics and ambulatory care, among other disciplines.

By Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary Senior Reporter

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