The United Arab Emirates launched a 2026–2031 health plan to prepare for climate-related illness and keep essential care available, with heat and air quality among its immediate priorities.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced the Health Sector Climate Adaptation Plan at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit on Oct. 21. It brings climate preparedness into public health planning over the period, the ministry said.
The plan identifies six health concerns: heat-related illness, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, vector-borne disease, water- and food-borne disease, and mental health. MoHAP’s initial focus areas are extreme heat, air quality, early-warning systems and continuity of essential care.
Proposed steps include heat and air-quality alerts, monitoring for climate-sensitive diseases, and closer integration of health and environmental information. The plan also calls for preparing health facilities, making medical supply chains more resilient and coordinating emergency plans.
MoHAP said the plan gives particular attention to people more vulnerable to climate-related complications, without naming specific groups. MoHAP said it prepared the plan with climate officials, health authorities and specialist partners.
MoHAP said the plan supports national adaptation policy, advances the UAE’s 2031 vision and contributes to the COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health. In 2023, the ministry said the UAE updated its National Framework on Climate Change and Health at COP28, building on a framework first launched in 2019.
“Our responsibility is to anticipate these risks,” Minister of Health and Prevention Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh said in the announcement. MoHAP said inadequate preparation can bring avoidable illness, care disruptions and added resource costs.
The next phase will coordinate relevant entities and put the priorities into practice against indicators. The announcement did not specify the indicators or set dates for implementation.
