United Arab Emirates
January 22, 2010 — ipnadm-in
In line with its increasing wealth, the UAE has relatively high standards of healthcare. The government has increased hospital capacity over recent years, and its private sector has become a major medical tourism destination. The biggest health problems are those relating to cardiovascular conditions.
The UAE also has a nascent pharmaceutical industry, which according to the government, is emerging as a major force in the region. Tariffs and taxes on medicines are minimal, and customs bureaucracy does not significantly delay or drive up the costs of imports.
The UAE is a major trading port, and as such is a staging point for counterfeit and substandard drugs on their way from south and eastern Asia to other parts of the world.
