Within the Expo 2020 Dubai’s celebration of Universal Health Coverage Day, H.E Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Saidi, Minister of Health participated virtually recently in panel discussion on current commitments and future steps to achieve wider health coverage.

The International Universal Health Coverage Day aimed to highlight the achievement in this regard and identify gaps in ensuring that everyone can access for health care they need in the midst of pandemic recovery and implications.

The Health Minister affirmed the Sultanate’s commitment to achieve UHC, pointing out meanwhile to the progress achieved on the national level with regard to expanding health services network that enables easy access of high-quality health services.

An excessive focus should be put on providing specialized care services at the primary health care centers that must be consistent with the available epidemiological data, Al Saidi stressed regarding the challenges in the achieving UHC. He explained that the chronic or non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, which require more follow-up, pose an even greater challenge than communicable diseases.

Moreover, the health minister pointed out that the demographic indicators must be taken into account as the future demands for the provision of more elderly care services considering the rise in life expectancy and the consequent increase of elderly people rate in society.