Medical envoys of Abu Dhabi expressed Friday hope that their government’s pact with Korea on patient referrals and transfers will help improve their country’s infrastructure for better medical healthcare.

According to the World Health Organization, the population of the United Arab Emirates reached 4,599,000 in 2009, and is growing 4.1 percent annually. About 78 percent of the population resides in urban areas.

The majority of the population is quite young ― 79 percent are aged between 15 and 59 while those younger than 15 years old account for 19 percent. Only 2 percent are over 60 years old in the country with a life expectancy of around 78 years old.

But a large portion of the population suffers from chronic or severe illnesses. Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are often diagnosed as well as cancer.

The authorities have found that 33 percent of males and 38 percent of females are obese, which is likely to have led to the high prevalence of chronic and severe illnesses.

The health service is above average for the region, with 19.3 physicians per 10,000 people, and an adequate number of pharmaceutical or dentistry personnel. However, there are only 19 sickbeds available per 10,000 people, much less than Korea’s 123.

The UAE authorities have made efforts to improve its national healthcare system by subsidizing two-thirds of individual medical fees.

And local governments of the UAE are gearing up to build up their own healthcare infrastructure. Dubai has created Dubai Health Care City and subsidizes medical institutions that have opened their clinics there. Currently, there are 2,000 medical staff members working for 90 institutions in the free economic zone.

Abu Dhabi has also completed the construction of the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and begun supporting medical institutions there. The UAE authorities said their medical tourism industry was worth $16.8 billion last year, up 15 percent from a year earlier. The country is now striving to become a medical tourism hub in the Middle East targeting the Arabic world.

In order to attract the UAE authorities to medical services here, the Korean government has held seminars, forums and other events. The two governments in March agreed to promote exchanges of medical services and related medical institutions.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare signed an agreement with the Dubai health authorities to exchange knowhow and information as well as training opportunities in medical services, bio-technology and the pharmaceutical fields. It also signed with the Abu Dhabi authorities to form a partnership in health and medical services in March.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)