Dubai, 26 April 2009: His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and President of Dubai Health Authority today inaugurated the Joslin Diabetes Centre affiliate of the Dubai Health Authority located in the campus of Al Wasl Hospital.

The Harvard-Affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center was established in Boston in 1898 and since then it has been a global leader in meeting the ever-changing challenges of diabetes. The opening of this centre in Dubai marks its presence in the gulf region, where diabetes is a pressing medical concern.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and President of Dubai Health Authority said: “I am pleased that the Dubai Health Authority has partnered with a centre that is known for its treatment methods and its capability to effectively treat and manage this disease. The centre will provide its expertise to treat the people in UAE who are suffering from this disease and its complications.”

He added: “Another important aspect is the diabetic training program that the centre will provide healthcare practitioners in Dubai. We are glad that both patients and healthcare professionals will be able to benefit from the centre’s experience in providing frontline treatment and care to control and manage this disease.”

H.E. Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of Dubai Health Authority said: “Diabetes is one of the major diseases that has affected a significant percentage of our population. The partnership with Joslin will ensure that we can utilize their competency to actively tackle this disease. This centre will be the first completely dedicated centre for diabetes care and prevention in the Emirate of Dubai and such a multi-disciplinary approach to managing the disease is indeed crucial at this point in time.”

The Affiliate will feature a state-of-the-art treatment facility for patients with diabetes and will focus on prevention, education, lifestyle management and podiatry, as well as early detection of complications for patients ages 18 and older. A pediatric division is planned for the future.

The centre will mirror the same approach to treating and preventing diabetes as is followed in Boston and will be able to treat 100 patients a day.

Clinicians at the Dubai centre include four U.S.-board certified endocrinologists, seven diabetes educators, a podiatrist, a physiotherapist and a mental health counselor.

Dr Hamed Farooqi, M.D., Medical Director of the Joslin Diabetes Center Dubai said: “The new affiliate’s mission for combating the diabetes epidemic in Dubai involves educating both patients and physicians and using sophisticated technology to both deliver care and measure results.”

“An important aspect of strategy, especially in the content of Dubai where a large percentage of the population are diabetics or are pre-diabetics, is setting up a diabetes training program for primary care doctors in Dubai.”

He said this will help provide unified standards for the prevention of diabetes across the Emirate of Dubai. “We will also bring in a software platform to track quality of care, clinical outcomes, physician education and patient compliance.”

He said the challenges of tackling the disease in this region are particularity high given the fact that Dubai has a high rate of obesity. “Type two diabetes is directly related to obesity and since Dubai also has a high incidence of childhood obesity, awareness and educative initiates will go a long way in combating the disease.”

Dr Farooqi said that the opening of this centre has brought the most advanced diabetic care to the Emirate of Dubai and in future the centre will include management of gestational diabetes and pediatric endocrinology amongst the host of other features it currently provides for identifying and managing the disease.