ABU DHABI, The Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) has issued the Abu Dhabi Public and Preventive Health System to serve as a cornerstone of the centre’s vision toward a healthy and safe society.
The decree defines the critical responsibilities of Abu Dhabi’s entities in managing various aspects of public and preventive health and encompassing eight pillars, such as communicable diseases, noncommunicable diseases, occupational health and safety, environmental health, community health, information and research, awareness programmes, and public health emergencies and crises.
In collaboration with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), the ADPHC will work on preparing and developing the systems, policies, circulars, and initiatives to meet the requirements of the Abu Dhabi Public and Preventive Health System.
Abdulla Bin Mohamed Al Hamed, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said, “As a result of our leadership’s wise directives that have placed the safety and wellbeing of the community at the forefront, since the establishment of Abu Public Health Centre, we move towards strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a regional and global leader in healthcare with initiatives such as the Abu Dhabi Public and Preventive Health System.
“Following the directives of the Abu Dhabi Government, the Abu Dhabi Public and Preventive Health System was issued to serve as a strategic addition to the emirate’s public health landscape. Public and preventive health is a critical element of the DoH’s responsibilities and a complementary component of the curative health offerings across healthcare facilities.
“By providing a regulatory framework for all public health activities in the emirate, the system will support the ADPHC’s initiatives towards a healthy and safe society. It has been prepared in line with international best practices and designed to be resilient, keeping pace with changes in the healthcare sector. The system reflects our wise leadership’s commitment to the health and safety of everyone living in the UAE. It is another step to strengthen public and preventative health, as we continue reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s position as a global leader in healthcare.”
Matar Saeed Al Nuaimi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, said, “The new system follows the wise decision by our leadership to establish the ADPHC in 2019. The Abu Dhabi Public and Preventive Health System is a document that sets the regulatory framework for all public health activities in the emirate. Implementing the Public and Preventive Health System at the emirate level is a unique and distinct experience in the region. It is a key step that supports our development efforts while also creating a positive impact on the public health standards in Abu Dhabi.”
Al Nuaimi added, “The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the capabilities of the UAE and its flexibility in implementing exceptional public health and preventative health measures. In 2022, we are focusing on leveraging this success to move forward faster to achieve the aspirations of our leadership and residents of the emirate. We aim to contribute to the creation of a healthy and aware society across the entire Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Public and Preventive Health System will clarify the obligations and guidelines for government and private agencies, health sector institutions and community members.
“This, in turn, will improve the level of public health in the community and will reflect positively on many local indicators that the government aspires to achieve in the coming years while raising the country’s public health ranking at the global level.”
The system’s Communicable Diseases chapter outlines the requirements for managing infectious diseases by addressing aspects related to monitoring, investigation, surveillance, and vaccinations necessary for preventing and controlling the outbreak of infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of circulating information about contagious diseases on a domestic and global level.
Similarly, the chapter on Noncommunicable Diseases focuses on identifying and updating lists of diseases and priorities for dealing with them based on currently available data and statistics, domestically and globally.
The system also addresses Occupational Health and Safety by defining the responsibilities of employers and workers in public and private sectors, emphasising the need to assess and reduce the risks associated with various workplace activities and promoting a culture of occupational health and safety. It also contributes to defining standards and requirements needed to protect the health of workers and communities from occupational and environmental risks through assessing potential sources of environmental pollution.
The Community Health chapter covers all family and school health all aspects, particularly emphasising the importance of medical and preventive examinations for expecting mothers and newborns. The chapter also highlights the importance of educating community members on all matters affecting their health.
In line with the ADPHC’s commitment to investing in innovation and smart data and its applications, the system allocates an entire chapter to identifying and categorising research and data management activities related to public and preventive health. Through that, it stresses the importance of developing and implementing education and awareness programmes, unifying messages and priorities in this field and preparing for emergencies such as pandemics and epidemics.
The Abu Dhabi Public Health System has been launched to define policies and procedures that will maintain and promote public health, ensure the health and safety of workers and employees in the emirate, and improve Abu Dhabi’s global public health ranking.
Source: Emirates News Agency
