Data released by the Ministry of Finance, seen by «Emirates Today», revealed that the expenditures allocated to the Ministry of Health and Community Protection, which initially constituted 7% of the federal budget for 2020, were increased to 9.07%, to cover the increase in spending on precautionary measures to combat the spread of Corona virus emerging (Covid 19), ensuring rapid response to the urgent needs of employees in the health care sector.
Federal spending
According to this increase in allocations, it is expected that federal spending on the health sector in the UAE will reach about 5.564 billion dirhams until the end of 2020, equivalent to 9.07% of the total federal budget of 61.35 billion dirhams. Local government spending for the seven Emirates on the health sector and measures to besiege "Covid-19" nominate the number to a further increase that will appear in the data collected for federal and local spending expected by the Ministry of Finance.
According to the statistics of “Finance”, one billion and 37 million dirhams were spent during the first quarter of 2020 from the increased allocations for the health sector.
Operating costs
According to the Finance report, the federal and local governments in the country have reduced operating costs in government agencies, to provide fiscal space to increase health care spending, as well as reduce government revenue due to the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic's spread. The measures taken in this regard included the re-prioritization of spending on ongoing construction projects, the wait for employment, and the review of spending on non-urgent conferences and training.
The Ministry of Finance emphasized that these steps resulted in the success of the UAE in dealing with the pandemic efficiently and with distinction, as the UAE is the first in the world in the number of examinations per person with more than 3.5 million examinations for early detection of injuries, isolation, and providing the best health care needed for them, and avoiding Complications of the disease.
Measures to combat the spread of "Covid 19"
The measures taken by the state to combat the spread of the "Covid 19" epidemic include:
■ Provide ongoing support to fully qualified and fully equipped medical teams.
■ Providing health insurance costs that cover epidemic testing and treatment for insured and uninsured individuals.
■ Establishing fully equipped high-tech health facilities in Dubai with a capacity of 5,000 beds, and in Abu Dhabi with a total of 1,200 beds.
■ Launching a new, large-scale lab to meet the need for Covid-19 screening tests.
Launching a national cleansing program.
Movement restriction on the population within 24 hours.
■ Developing smart applications such as "Interactive Health Map" which includes data on 13 test centers, in addition to hospitals, health care centers and clinics.