Abu Dhabi – December 07, 2010: The Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and Lilly U.A.E., regional headquarter, a branch of global pharmaceutical leader Eli Lilly and Company, announced today a joint-agreement for the development of a Private-Public Diabetes Partnership Program to improve diabetes outcomes in Abu Dhabi through improved education, healthcare and treatment for the coming three years.
The announcement was made during a press conference at the World Healthcare Congress (WHCC) Middle East, a gathering of 500 global health care leaders to share best practices for the future of healthcare in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf Cooperative Council countries and abroad.
The key objectives of the collaboration between the parties include quantification of diabetes disease burden, identifying subpopulations on which to focus interventions and clear understanding of longitudinal patient follow-up capability across the continuum in different healthcare settings. Learnings and outcomes will be shared and disseminated with the view to transfer solutions internationally.
Dr. Oliver Harrison, Director of Public Health and Policy Division at HAAD, said: “HAAD and Lilly will use HAAD’s extensive health data to assess opportunities to improve health. We recognize the importance of using data to better understand the disease burden of our community; data are a foundation of modern healthcare and innovation. Through this partnership we shall identify treatment patterns and groups at higher risk of complications. Insight and understanding can then lead to create improved diabetes care for the Abu Dhabi community, and help drive innovation. We both commit to the highest levels of ethical and privacy standards in using the data and throughout this collaboration.”
Diabetes is among the most prevalent non-communicable diseases in Abu Dhabi, affecting nearly one in three adults over age 30. The project between HAAD and Lilly will aim to build a Self-sustaining best practice model, jointly publishing selected research in academic, peer-reviewed medical journals and encouraging innovation to promote public health.
Eberhard Ludewigs, Vice President of Lilly’s AMERASIA Region, said: “Lilly is excited to be able to collaborate with HAAD to help deepen insights on treatment and to ultimately help improve diabetes patient outcomes in Abu Dhabi. Our commitment to diabetes care is comprehensive, and we strongly believe that this type of private-public partnership is essential to improving and advancing diabetes care in society.”
Lilly has developed, and is in the process of updating, several tools designed to evaluate pharmacy, medical, laboratory, and disease management data for patients with type 2 diabetes. Lilly will demonstrate the functionality of the tools and seek feedback and access to the available HAAD data to determine the likelihood that the HAAD data could aid further development or to modify the existing tools for local use.
Held under the Patronage of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and supported by sovereign partners the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD), and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the WHCC Middle East, features the top industry influencers, including health ministers, leading government officials, hospital directors, IT innovations, pharmaceutical and medical device companies and health care industry suppliers
WHCC is another important step in the strategic commitment to excellence and innovation in healthcare in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and to develop as a global center for healthcare innovation and research.