UAE health ranking: Good on sugar taxes and vaccines, but tobacco control lags

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The UAE has been ranked 23rd out of 114 countries for its readiness to prevent disease, gaining strong ratings for vaccination and curbing sugary drinks, but scoring poorly on…

The UAE has been ranked 23rd out of 114 countries for its readiness to prevent disease, gaining strong ratings for vaccination and curbing sugary drinks, but scoring poorly on tobacco control.

The first Preventive Health Readiness Index, compiled by FTI Consulting, assessed 27 indicators across four areas: policy and governance, funding and incentives, digital health and data, and access and capacity.

It measured how effectively countries are working to prevent diseases, rather than only how effectively they respond after illness occurs. The results framed each nation’s capabilities to prevent disease and deal with future health demands.

The UK topped the rankings, followed by Finland, Australia, Norway and Sweden. However, the highest-ranked country scored just 77.8 points, highlighting the challenges nations face to strengthen preventive health care.

“Traditionally, when we assess healthcare systems, we tend to focus a lot on how much a country spends, the quality of its hospitals or outcomes such as life expectancy and disease burdens,” said Karim El Msan, co-author of the index.

“While these are all very important measures, they only tell us what has already happened. What has been missing is a consistent way to assess whether countries have the policies, resources, infrastructures and the capabilities in place to prevent diseases before they occur.

“This index actually looks at whether a country is ready to prevent disease.”

The UAE achieved a score of 100 for its policies to reduce sugary drink consumption, reflecting the introduction of excise taxes on sweetened beverages.

Introduced in 2017, the tax initially applied a flat 50 per cent rate to carbonated drinks. It has since shifted to a system where rates are determined by the amount of sugar per 100ml.

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