Improving air quality in the UAE to meet World Health Organisation guidelines could generate savings of $596 million a year, a report has found.
The savings would come from lower rates of respiratory illness, hospital admissions and premature deaths.
Access to health care and health education for limited-income communities could also save lives and generate billions of dirhams in economic value each year, the Health Inclusivity Index said.
The report, developed by Economist Impact in partnership with global consumer health company Haleon, was launched in Abu Dhabi. It assessed how 40 countries can remove barriers to good health through enhanced policy, systems and community initiatives.
“Air pollution is one of the most urgent health challenges,” said Gerard Dunleavy, a senior consultant at Economist Impact and lead author of the report. “The savings come not just from fewer hospital visits, but from healthier, more productive lives across society.”
According to the report, 94 per cent of people globally breathe air with pollution levels that exceed WHO recommended levels, which harms their health.
Reducing air pollution brings clear health and economic benefits across the board, with the greatest gains for lower-income populations, the report stated.
While the UAE scored highly in several categories, the research also included findings that, if addressed, could lead to major public health and economic gains.
Among them is the challenge of improving air quality, with the index finding that reducing levels of PM2.5, or particulate matter up to 2.5 micrometres in diameter, to meet WHO guidelines could prevent almost 4,000 premature deaths a year.
In 2024, the concentration of PM2.5 in the UAE was 33.7 micrograms per cubic metre. The WHO recommends a maximum of five micrograms per cubic metre, a figure met by only seven countries in last year's World Air Quality Report from Swiss company IQAir.
Countries with the worst air pollution
Improved understanding
The Economist Impact report found that, across the 40 countries studied, medical expenses are 2.8 times higher for people with low health literacy compared with those who have a better understanding of their health. Here in the UAE, a national effort to improve health literacy by 25 per cent could save as much as $2.3 billion a year.
“People with low health literacy are more likely to end up in emergency rooms, take the wrong medication and struggle with long-term health issues,” Mr Dunleavy said. “That puts enormous pressure, not only on the health system, but also on families and the wider economy.”
He called for a “life-course approach" to address this, with education and outreach efforts beginning from a young age. “This means not just teaching children to brush their teeth, but helping older adults understand and use digital health tools,” he said. “It’s about finding the right message for each stage of life and each segment of the population.”
The index also emphasised the value in dental care. Addressing gum disease could save $809 million over 10 years, while focusing efforts to tackle tooth decay among limited-income communities could yield savings of $572 million.
Dr Omniyat Al Hajeri, executive director of the community health sector at Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, said many of the costs identified in the report were preventable.
“This report confirms what we already know: most of these health expenses can be avoided with early action,” she said. “From obesity to dental pain, the burden on the healthcare system is often avoidable through education, awareness and policy.”
Making progress
Speaking at a launch event for the report, Dr Al Hajeri praised the UAE’s progress. “We are doing well, but there is always room for improvement,” she said. “The goal is to empower every individual, from early childhood to late adulthood, to take control of their health, make informed choices and unlock their full potential.”
She cited community campaigns, school health programmes and workplace wellness policies as examples of how the UAE is enhancing the focus on health. Heat awareness campaigns for outdoor workers and workplace wellness initiatives have helped to reach limited-income and high-risk groups.
“Health is not only about treating disease, it’s about creating the conditions where people can live well,” she added. “That starts at home, at school and in the workplace.”
Arda Arat, general manager of Haleon for the region, said: "The place to begin is health literacy – that’s why our global goal is to empower 50 million people each year to take charge of their everyday health."
Economist Impact is in discussions with UAE authorities about potential follow-up studies, including the development of a national health literacy database.
The latest report said the UAE was “well positioned to lead” in future rankings. “There’s no doubt the infrastructure is strong,” Dr Al Hajeri said. “The next step is changing behaviour, empowering people to be proactive, informed and confident in managing their health. That’s where we will see the real transformation.”
What the UAE is doing
The UAE has taken significant steps in recent years to promote a green agenda, at home and abroad. In June, President Sheikh Mohamed set out the country's efforts to champion meaningful climate action to help protect the planet for future generations.
Dubai hosted the Cop28 climate change conference in 2023, where countries came together to deliver the landmark UAE Consensus. The deal called for the international community to transition away from fossil fuels to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, while it also set targets to greatly increase global renewable energy capacity.
The UAE has introduced policies including a ban on single-use plastic bags, which began in Abu Dhabi in 2022 and was extended across the country. In Abu Dhabi, the move led to about 360 million plastic bags being taken out of circulation by the end of 2024.
Large-scale energy projects such as the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, which aims to prevent the release of up to 22.4 million carbon emissions each year, and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world's largest single-site solar park, are at the heart of the country's environmental ambitions.
Dubai has focused on air pollution, with the Air Quality Strategy 2030 announced in June by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. The initiative aims to reduce carbon emissions through car-free residential areas and an expansion of green spaces.
Such moves have achieved a measure of success. While the concentration of PM2.5 in the UAE remains above the WHO guidelines, it dropped by more than a fifth from 2023 to 2024, from 43 micrograms per cubic metre to 33.7.
Habiba Al Marashi, chairwoman of Emirates Environmental Group, told The National in March that every emirate monitored air quality and steps had been taken to reduce pollution. Reductions in the amount of traffic may have helped to improve air quality, she added.
Diana Francis, who leads the Environmental and Geophysical Sciences Lab at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, said that, since 2010, the UAE had experienced a decrease in the levels in the air of aerosols – all types of dust and pollution.
