Department of Health - Abu Dhabi Wins 8 Globee® Business Awards for its distinguished response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic

Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the emirate, and Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) won eight prestigious awards at the 9th Annual 2021 CEO Awards as part of the Globee® Business Awards. The accolades were awarded in recognition of the emirate’s excellence and leadership in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emirate's strategy was to raise awareness and employ digital solutions in its efforts to control the pandemic's impact on the community’s health and safety.

In addition to DoH and ADPHC, the Annual 2021 CEO Awards honoured a selection of leading institutions and individuals from countries including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany among others.

DoH and ADPHC won three Gold awards including, “Heightening Awareness and Publicity Campaign for COVID-19, 2021” for the intensive campaign that was launched in response to COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign achieved an impressive level of success in reaching all communities within the emirate through awareness messages and government decrees that were issued to help in preventing the spread of the virus. The second award was for the category “Marketing Campaign for COVID-19, 2021” for the multilingual campaign that was released during the pandemic that aimed to establish direct contact with individuals and sectors that are at high risk of developing complications from the virus.

H.E Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of Department of Health –Abu Dhabi, won the Gold award for “Executive Hero of the Year, 2021” for his leadership and efforts in the health sector in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the emirate. Al Hamed was able to unify the efforts of all teams to deliver high-quality integrated healthcare services for more than 3 million people in the emirate. In addition, he supported the implementation of innovative proactive initiatives and sought to optimise the use of resources through expanding the range and reach of testing and activating quarantine and isolation programmes without the need for a full lockdown in the emirate. These measures helped reducing infection and mortality rates, while presenting a pioneering model for global pandemic response.

DoH and ADPHC won the Silver award for three different categories including “Heightening Awareness and Publicity Campaign, 2021”. This campaign focused on answering frequently asked questions about the virus, using 15 different languages for communication. As part of the campaign, ADPHC and DoH prepared and disseminated 106,000 publications across multiple platforms and public spaces such as shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and gas stations.

DoH also won a Silver award for “Best Service to Combat and Reduce the Impact of COVID-19, 2021” due to its continuous efforts in supporting multiple clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine within the emirate. In addition to activating the National Vaccination Programme, DoH also spearheaded the formation of the HOPE Consortium to help in the distribution of the vaccine and support global efforts in combating the pandemic. DoH also won a Silver award for “Marketing Campaign COVID-19 related information, 2021” for Abu Dhabi’s thorough marketing campaign to raise awareness about the COVID-19 virus and its effects.

Furthermore, ADPHC- DoH won two Bronze awards under “Best Technology to Combat and Reduce the Impact of COVID-19, 2021” which recognised the introduction of the Home Isolation programme and implementing it for the first time in Abu Dhabi. ADPHC and DoH also won a Bronze Award for “Best Service to Combat and Reduce the Impact of COVID-19, 2021” for its Home Quarantine programme.

H.E Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of Department of Health –Abu Dhabi, highlighted “These awards come as a direct reflection of the continuous support from the UAE’s leadership to enhance the healthcare sector and ensure that it is fully equipped to be able to respond efficiently and successfully to any challenges.”

His Excellency added, “We believe that Abu Dhabi will continue to maintain its leading position globally, as a result of the ongoing efforts observed across different sectors to continuously curb COVID-19. Since its inception, the COVID-19 pandemic presented the world with a unique challenge of understanding the nature of this virus and devising plans to combat it as quickly as possible. Here in Abu Dhabi, we saw teams from across sectors come together to disseminate innovative and impactful awareness campaigns to a community comprised of over 200 different nationalities.”

CEO World Awards celebrate the achievements of leaders, executives, and their management teams behind the year’s most outstanding initiatives and achievements. Chief Executive Officers, also known as CEOs, lead the development of the organization’s strategy for the short- and long-term. This annual awards programme recognizes individuals and teams who set industry benchmarks for excellence.

Abu Dhabi came in the highest-ranking amongst 50 leading cities due to measures that contributed to enhancing the speed and effectiveness of its response to the pandemic. As a result of these measures, the health and safety of the community were protected, while maintaining an open and competitive economy. Abu Dhabi also maintained its position as a pioneer in scientific research, digital initiatives and technology, and a leading destination for medical tourism. Abu Dhabi’s robust response to the pandemic ensured that the emirate maintained a low rate of positive cases and one of the lowest mortality rates per capita in the world while adapting and scaling up healthcare provision to protect every member of society.