ABU DHABI // A cancer-screening programme is being implemented in Abu Dhabi for the first time, the health authority said yesterday.
Colorectal cancer, a malignant tumour that occurs in the colon or rectum, is the second most common form of cancer in the emirate.
But Health Authority Abu Dhabi (Haad) is fighting back and encouraging people aged between 40 and 75 to have themselves checked as part of the emirate-wide screening programme, which has started this year.
Abu Dhabi is the first emirate in the UAE to introduce colorectal screening, Dr Jalaa Taher, the section head of cancer control and prevention at Haad, said.
“It’s among the killer cancers, and it shouldn’t be, because you can prevent it,” she said.
Twenty clinics and hospitals – public and private – will be offering screening this year.
It involves either a colonoscopy, which should be done every 10 years, or a fecal immunochemical test, which detects blood in a stool sample and is recommended every two years.
These procedures are covered for Emiratis through thiqa insurance cards and expatriates are urged to check their insurance.
“We are trying to follow the experience in other countries, for example the UK, US and Australia, where they introduce this programme and now they can see the effect of it. There is already a reduction in mortality,” Dr Taher said at yesterday’s launch of a campaign to raise awareness of the disease.
About 70 per cent of cases in Abu Dhabi are at an advanced stage when detected.
“Usually they discover the cases in an advanced stage, so most of these people will die eventually. Overall, I think it’s the third leading cause of cancer death in Abu Dhabi,” Dr Taher said.
“It’s different than other cancers, like breast cancer. With breast cancer the lady will already come with a lump or the mammogram will detect the early changes, but the changes are already there.
“[With] colorectal cancer, the colonoscopy can detect the polyps that are still benign and did not change to cancer, so if we remove this polyp, there is no chance for cancer to appear.”
A series of events, which will visit malls, will be held this month as part of the drive.
They will include giving people the chance to go inside a giant inflatable colon.
Online bookings for the screenings will be available by late May at www.haad.ae/simplycheck.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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