The UAE is helping advance medical research and health solutions through partnerships with leading US organizations. These collaborations support doctors, scientists and medical professionals who are working to improve lives and treatment for patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE has worked with US partners to provide care for patients in both countries. This builds on years of cooperation with top American medical institutions. In addition, Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba and his wife, Abeer Shoukry Al Otaiba, are proud to support US and international organizations — such as Children's National Hospital and the King Hussein Cancer Foundation — in their efforts to provide quality care and advance global medical science.
In 2019, Children’s National Medical Center announced a gift from the UAE to support a new Research & Innovation Campus in Washington, DC. The new research facilities will help drive pediatric discoveries that save and improve the lives of children in the US and UAE and around the world. Most recently, in 2024 the UAE presented Children’s National Hospital with a new donation to bolster strategic initiatives such as the hospital’s prenatal, neonatal and maternal health treatments.
The gift builds on a longstanding partnership to advance global pediatric health. In 2009, a UAE grant established the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Medical Center. This institute is spurring research and groundbreaking developments in healthcare for children by pioneering new treatment methods and technologies.
Later in 2019, Mayo Clinic and Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) partnered to launch Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City in Abu Dhabi. The 741-bed hospital will serve patients with serious conditions, advancing complex-care medicine in the UAE. As a truly collaborative relationship, Mayo Clinic’s physicians, nurses and staff will work in tandem with colleagues from SEHA.
The UAE is a longtime partner of Susan G. Komen in the fight against breast cancer. The UAE Embassy in Washington, DC is a sponsor of the DC MORE THAN PINK Walk. Proceeds from the race go towards breast cancer health education and breast cancer screening and treatment programs in the National Capital Region. In addition, Komen has worked for many years with US- and UAE-based institutions to raise awareness and improve treatment in the UAE.
The UAE also has a track record of working with US partners to encourage innovation in medicine. In February 2018, Johns Hopkins Medicine announced a $50 million gift from the UAE to establish the Sheikh Khalifa Stroke Institute. Once complete, the Institute will be one of the most advanced centers for stroke diagnosis and treatment in the world.
The gift establishes the next phase of the UAE’s relationship with Johns Hopkins, after the UAE collaborated with Johns Hopkins Medicine to open the Sheikh Zayed Cardiovascular and Critical Care Tower at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland in 2012.
In 2016, the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al Nahyan Building for Personalized Cancer Care opened at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas, with support from a $150 million gift by the UAE. The state-of-the-art center provides resources for enhancing cancer care and accelerating cancer research.
As a result of a partnership between Cleveland Clinic and the UAE’s Mubadala, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) opened in 2015, bringing extraordinary medical treatment and innovation to the region. This multispecialty facility offers a range of cutting-edge medical and surgical services, improving the quality of care that patients receive in the UAE and throughout the Middle East. Since opening, CCAD has tripled its patient capacity, supporting more than 665,000 patient encounters in 2019 alone.
