Compass offers a powerful inferencing platform with APIs
Among a number of policy changes that can be expected includes a tuberculosis (TB) free status certificate issued by the home countries of expatriates seeking residency in the UAE.
Officials have also been pushing for changes in the deportation laws regarding infectious diseases such as HIV and TB. According to senior health official from the Dubai Health Authority, four new policies related to dealing with pulmonary TB have been prepared and presented the authority’s strategy council for action.
“The policies have been approved by the council and will be announced in due time,” said Dr Ali Marzooqi, Director of Public Health and Safety Department without elaborating on what the policies were. As per the current federal law, expatriates who test positive for HIV and TB during the medical fitness process before obtaining a work permit/residency are repatriated.
But unlike HIV cases that are sent back immediately, people with TB are quarantined, treated and then deported. According to Dr Kulthoom Hassan, Director of the National TB Programme at the UAE health ministry many GCC states are already following this policy.
Expatriates who travel from endemic countries to some Gulf countries for employment need to get a clearance from a pre-approved medical fitness centre stating that they are free of any communicable diseases such as TB and HIV, she said.
Authorities including the DHA, MoH and Health Authority of Abu Dhabi, however, have approved of and are in the process of developing standardised TB management guidelines which require all healthcare providers across the country to follow the same treatment methods. A recent study done by DHA found that 576 people seeking residency in Dubai were infected, and most cases were imported from endemic countries including India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
The study also showed that 60 per cent of patients did not show up for follow-up treatment for several reasons, including fear of deportation. asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com
Compass offers a powerful inferencing platform with APIs
The Dubai Cares report, released after two years of consultation with experts, has called for integration of education and climate change
It’s a strategic move for businesses striving to remain competitive
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have finished second to City in the Premier League for the past two seasons
Arsenal would have gone top of the table with a first league win at The Etihad since 2015
She withdrew from the Paris Olympics due to bronchitis and pulled out of the US Open in August due to a lower back injury
Jayasuriya (5-68) claimed his eighth five-wicket haul, seven of them coming at his happy hunting ground in Galle alone
Milestone 25th anniversary of women's tournament in Dubai to get under way on February 16, with men's event scheduled for following week