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Ministry Focus on Premarital Health Checks for Couples

Between March 2008 and October 2009, the ministry tested up to 28,900 Emirati and expatriate couples.

Recently, the ministry joined hands with the Marriage Fund and published 60,000 copies of a handbook aimed at answering all related questions on prevention of diseases and how to lead a healthy life and relationship.

It has also made screening more accessible by integrating the programme into the primary healthcare system whereby nine centres across all emirates are equipped to carry out such tests.

“We are starting this campaign after several couples showed keen interest,” said Dr Mahmoud Fikri, Executive Director for Health Policy at the ministry. “We are pushing for a healthy society and transparency among couples before marriage,” he said.

In 2005, a law made it mandatory for any couple getting married in the UAE to undergo premarital testing for most prevalent infectious diseases and genetic disorders including thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia, HIV/AIDs, Hepatitis B and C and Syphilis.

Dr Fikri also said the ministry would take complete responsibility for the couple the moment they walked into the clinic. “Besides offering a medical test, a counsellor will be at hand to brief them on how to deal with different health issues before and after the marriage,” he said. “Until the final test report comes and even after a child is born to the couple, we will be there to offer our support and guidance.”

Dr Noura Al Suweidi, Director of Primary Healthcare, Ajman, said testing is necessary because 60 per cent of congenital anomalies and 100 per cent of inherited blood disorders can be prevented through this procedure.

“The tests also screen for sexual diseases and help prevent transmission from mother to child and eventually decreases the financial, physical and psychological burden on families,” she added. The testing can be done 
for Dh100 for UAE nationals and 
Dh250 for expatriates.

• The UAE has recorded over 240 hereditary diseases of which 82 are due to consanguineous marriages
• Over 50 per cent of marriages in the UAE are consanguineous of which 26 per cent are among first relatives
• Hereditary blood diseases are the most common among genetic disorders in the UAE
• Thalassemia is the most common single genetic disorder in the Arab world
• Sickle cell anaemia is the most common inherited blood disorder in the GCC afflicting about 5.2 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 1.9 per cent in the UAE

(Based on the statistics released by the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies in November 2007)

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.ae

• UAE