Research

Unveiling the Future of Healthcare in MENA

Dubai Healthcare City Study Unearths Promising Trends and Opportunities in the Region’s Health Industry.
Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA), the governing body of Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), has launched a major whitepaper titled “Emerging Opportunities in Middle East Healthcare”. The report provides in-depth insights into the regional healthcare sector, with a special focus on the GCC. This initiative is the latest in DHCA’s mission to contribute to the development of the healthcare sector in line with Dubai’s goal to become one of the world’s top 10 healthcare destinations. The whitepaper underlines the growth of the GCC and wider MENA healthcare landscape over the past decade and sheds light on the opportunities for investors.

Key Findings:

  • The study forecasts that healthcare spending in the GCC will grow at a CAGR of 4.9% to reach USD 99.6 billion in 2023 from USD 86.2 billion in 2020, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia commanding approximately 80% share of the total spending.
  • The report highlights a renewed focus on healthcare as a holistic rather than a symptomatic issue, further amplifying opportunities in the preventive medicine sector, especially as governments are increasingly aligned with the World Health Organization’s approach.
  • Additionally, the whitepaper acknowledges recent regulatory changes in Dubai’s healthcare sector to improve efficiencies, and an increasing focus on private-public partnership projects, which Dubai Healthcare City is leading the way on, as a primary enabler of industry growth.
  • In the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the healthtech start-up ecosystem is valued at over USD 1.5 billion, a 22x increase since 2016.
  • Latest research estimates that the combined digital health market in Saudi Arabia and the UAE is likely to reach USD 4 billion by 2026.
  • With manufacturing as an area of focus, the UAE’s medical device market is forecast to grow to USD 1.5 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 4.4% from 2020.

Resilience of Dubai’s Healthcare Sector:
Despite pandemic-related restrictions on global travel, Dubai doubled the number of health tourists in 2021, with international visitors spending nearly USD 198 million on healthcare. This demonstrates the resilience of Dubai’s healthcare sector. DHCC is a key contributor to the emirate’s diverse economic growth, and the paper revealed that the freezone contributed AED 2.8 billion to Dubai’s GDP in 2021. This figure is expected to reach AED 3.4 billion by 2030. DHCC has emerged as a catalyst for the healthcare job market, as it has now facilitated the creation of 15,760 jobs in Dubai.

Private-Public Partnership Projects:
In addition to regulatory changes, the whitepaper highlights private-public partnership projects as a primary enabler of industry growth. Dubai Healthcare City is leading the way on this front. In 2021, it launched the Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital, a joint venture with the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention. DHCC is also the home to the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Mohammed Bin Rashid University Hospital. These institutions are helping to create a medical education hub in the region.

Emerging Opportunities in Middle East Healthcare:
The study identifies emerging opportunities in the Middle East healthcare sector. The focus on preventive medicine is creating new opportunities for investors. According to the whitepaper, there is a need for more outpatient clinics, wellness centers, and home healthcare services. There is also a growing demand for digital health services, telemedicine, and remote monitoring. The report highlights several other emerging opportunities, including:

  • Elderly care and assisted living facilities
  • Health insurance and medical tourism
  • Medical device manufacturing
  • Health tech startups
  • Medical research and development

Dubai Healthcare City’s whitepaper highlights the opportunities in the MENA region’s healthcare sector and underlines the need for a renewed focus on healthcare as a holistic issue. The study demonstrates that private-public partnership projects are key enablers of industry growth, and Dubai Healthcare City is playing a leading role in driving the industry’s growth. The resilience of Dubai’s healthcare sector in the face of pandemic-related restrictions on global travel is further proof of the emirate’s commitment to becoming one of the world’s top 10 healthcare destinations.