Public Policy Document

The outbreak of communicable diseases and the necessary measures to address them are among the most significant challenges facing health systems globally. The rapid spread of these diseases is exacerbated by increased individual mobility and high rates of international exchange, placing the fight against communicable diseases at the forefront of health policy concerns and priorities in the UAE.

According to the World Health Organization, communicable diseases are those resulting from infection by a causative agent that can be transmitted from person to person, animal to person, animal to animal, or from the environment to humans and animals, either directly or indirectly. Many communicable diseases spread due to low levels of environmental conservation, malnutrition, and a lack of awareness about proper health behaviors and living systems that help avoid infection.

The National Policy on Combating Communicable Diseases was developed in 2019 to establish a multisectoral framework to prevent and combat communicable diseases in the UAE. It aims to enhance the health of individuals and society at large within an environment free from the risks of communicable diseases.

1. Reduce rates of infection and deaths resulting from communicable diseases.   
2. Enhance national early detection system, surveillance, response systems, and preparedness for pandemics.  
3. Raise public awareness on risk factors affecting health, their causes, and the prevention methods related to communicable diseases.  
4. Develop robust systems to manage the health-related risks of communicable diseases and prepare national emergency plans to tackle and reduce outbreaks.  
5. Strengthen national capabilities by establishing collaborative policies that address threats attributable to priority communicable diseases. 
6. Enhance collaboration and integration of the various providers of communicable disease control services, while also coordinating national efforts for disease prevention, detection, and response to reduce service duplication.
7. Upgrade infection and prevention control programs nationwide. 
8. Encourage research on emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases.  
9. Continuously monitor regional and global communicable disease surveillance networks affiliated with the World Health Organization. 
10. Promote health system development in the UAE and strengthen the health sector’s capacity to detect potential threats triggered by communicable diseases. 
     

1. Enhance the capacities to prevent, detect and respond to communicable diseases:
   • Enhance monitoring and surveillance capacities and improve public health laboratory testing capabilities.  
   • Enhance preparedness and response capacity.  
   • Implement evidence-based prevention policies.  
   • Ensure effective communication in public health and prevention of communicable diseases.   
2. Improve the regulation and implementation of mechanisms to combat communicable diseases:
   • Enhance effective governance.  
   • Develop and support highly skilled workforce.  
   • Improve information systems and research capacity.  
   • Secure appropriate funding and support the development of critical infrastructure.  
   • Build effective national partnerships and networks. 
   • Enhance international cooperation. 

Expected Outcomes (1-5 Years):

• Enhance national early warning, surveillance, and response systems, along with epidemic preparedness.
• Elevate community awareness of the factors and risks impacting human health, emphasizing individual and collective responsibility, and promote preventive measures for communicable diseases.
• Implement a system to manage health risks from communicable diseases and prepare comprehensive national emergency plans to address or mitigate these risks.
• Strengthen national capacities to develop systematic and collaborative policies for threats related to priority communicable diseases.

Expected Outcomes (6-10 Years):

• Enhance collaboration and integration among communicable disease control service providers, prioritizing national communicable disease concerns and population health needs.
• Coordinate and improve national prevention, detection, and response efforts, monitoring effectiveness and outcomes to reduce service duplication and address gaps.
• Strengthen national infection control programs.
• Promote research into emerging and re-emerging diseases.
• Consistently monitor regional and global communicable disease surveillance networks, such as the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.

Expected Outcomes (More Than 10 Years):

• Decrease the incidence and mortality rates associated with communicable diseases.
• Foster health development by ensuring a happy, healthy society living in an environment free from the complications of communicable diseases.
• Strengthen the health sector’s capacity to promptly assess potential threats from communicable diseases and develop integrated, forward-looking plans for comprehensive responses to mitigate their long-term impacts.

Community members and healthcare providers in charge of preventing and controlling the spread of communicable diseases.