• All Dubai visa holders (who automatically by law have the mandatory health insurance cover) are now eligible for Hepatitis C screening as per international best practice criteria.
  • The initiative will especially benefit those with limited insurance coverage and will reduce late detection of the disease.
  • Joint efforts of the Authority, pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers with an aim to focus on preventive community medicine, led to the culmination of this initiative.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced today the inclusion of free screening and treatment for Hepatitis C under the basic benefit plan of the Dubai Mandatory Health Insurance Scheme.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HVC). According to WHO, approximately 399,000 people die each year from hepatitis C, mostly from cirrhosis and liver cancer, often due to late diagnosis of the disease.

Presently, prevalence of the disease in Dubai is approximately 0.23 per cent of the population.

His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Director-General of the DHA said that in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and in line with the UAE Vision 2021 Plan, DHA aims to provide the highest quality of health services to everyone living in Dubai.

Al Qutami said, “Ninety-eight per cent of the population in Dubai has the mandatory health insurance scheme and thus focusing on preventive medicine through this scheme ensures wide coverage and directly benefits the community. The program will especially help those with limited coverage, it will lead to early diagnosis and reduce complications and provide financial and emotional support to patients with Hepatitis C.”

He added that in December 2017, Dubai became the first government body in the world to cover screening and treatment of three types of the most curable cancers.

Al Qutami said, “Providing the whole community with such wide-scale preventive screening mechanisms has been possible because of the support of our partners, both government and private.”

Ahmed Al Nuaimi, CEO of Joint Corporate Support Services said, “This is yet another milestone in terms of health insurance coverage after we launched the Basmah initiative in 2017. Under this initiative, if a patient is detected with Hepatitis C, the DHA Patient Tracking and Follow-Up Centre is automatically notified. They ensure that the complete treatment process for the patient is smooth and streamlined.”

In 2017, the funding department added screening services for diabetes, heart disease, new born and developmental screening as part of the mandatory health insurance cover with an aim to provide holistic health screening services under the insurance umbrella.

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Additional Information:

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About Hepatitis C

Source: World Health Organization:

Key facts 

  • Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus: the virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, ranging in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.
  • The hepatitis C virus is a blood borne virus and the most common modes of infection are through exposure to small quantities of blood. This may happen through injection drug use, unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, and the transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products.
  • Globally, an estimated 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C infection.
  • A significant number of those who are chronically infected will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer.
  • Approximately 399,000 people die each year from hepatitis C, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (type of liver cancer).
  • Antiviral medicines can cure more than 95% of persons with hepatitis C infection, thereby reducing the risk of death from liver cancer and cirrhosis, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low.
  • There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C; however, research in this area is ongoing.

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About the Dubai Health Authority:

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) was created, in June 2007, by Law 13 issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, with an expanded vision to include strategic oversight for the complete health sector in Dubai and enhance private sector engagement. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance is the President of the Dubai Health Authority and His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami is the Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority.

The DHA’s aim in Dubai is to provide an accessible, effective and integrated healthcare system, protect public health and improve the quality of life within the Emirate. This is a direct translation of the objectives of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Keeping the strategic plan in mind, the DHA’s mission is to ensure access to health services, maintain and improve the quality of these services, improve the health status of nationals, residents and visitors and oversee a dynamic, efficient and innovative health sector.

In addition to overseeing the health sector for the Emirate of Dubai, the DHA also focuses on providing services through DHA healthcare facilities including hospitals (Latifa, Dubai, Rashid and Hatta), specialty centres and DHA primary health centres spread throughout the Emirate of Dubai.

The main pillars of service delivery at DHA health facilities are quality, efficiency, patients and staff. It is our aim to maintain and improve the quality and efficiency of DHA health services. An important aspect of the service delivery strategy is to focus on patients, their needs and satisfaction as well as attract, retain, nurture and support outstanding staff.

Prior to the establishment of the DHA, the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS), which was established in 1973, was the functioning authority that almost exclusively focused on health service delivery.

© Press Release 2018

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