Continuing a 30-year partnership that has yielded 82 U.S. patents and countless medical breakthroughs for kids and their families, the Government of the United Arab Emirates has strengthened its transformational commitment to Children\u2019s National Hospital with a new $35 million donation focused on prenatal, neonatal and maternal health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement of the new gift comes after a recent visit to the hospital by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who met with Emirati families and patients receiving care at Children\u2019s National Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investment is the latest chapter of a longstanding philanthropic partnership between the UAE and Children\u2019s National. Each year, more than 100 Emirati families travel to Children\u2019s National for advanced pediatric care and life-saving treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This latest investment will bolster various strategic health initiatives, including within the hospital\u2019s Centre for Prenatal, Neonatal & Maternal Health Research and the Zickler Family Prenatal Pediatrics Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researchers in the Centre for Prenatal, Neonatal & Maternal Health Research are focused on the role of perinatal factors \u2014 including maternal stress, anxiety and depression \u2014 on the developing brain of the child. Studies also are revealing the impact of congenital anomalies such as heart disease and acquired conditions such as maternal infection with COVID-19 or Zika virus. New approaches to prenatal and postnatal care promise to optimize long-term outcomes of many hospitalised babies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Children in the Washington, D.C., area and across the world benefit greatly from the breakthroughs that have emerged from the incredible decades-long partnership between the UAE and Children\u2019s National,\u201d said Michelle Riley-Brown, M.H.A., FACHE, President and CEO of Children\u2019s National. \u201cI am deeply grateful for the UAE\u2019s most recent gift. The contribution will positively impact children and families and support the teams of researchers and specialists who dedicate their lives to developing innovative medical care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Milestones
The UAE helped to establish the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children\u2019s National in 2009. Today, the Sheikh Zayed Institute (SZI) has grown into a world-class, self-sustaining research center receiving more than 80 percent of its funding from grants and outside sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This platform for invention is advancing autonomous, robotic surgery. The institute\u2019s researchers believe pediatric surgical outcomes will improve if the precision and delicacy of a robot are incorporated into procedures such as gallbladder removal. SZI is also propelling the use of artificial intelligence to improve pediatric medicine and expand health equity. One example is a deep learning algorithm that uses hand-held ultrasounds to detect early signs of rheumatic heart disease, which kills nearly 400,000 people worldwide each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe lives and health of countless children and families in the Washington area, in the UAE and around the world have been transformed by our partnership,\u201d said Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the United States. \u201cOur continued support promises even more breakthrough innovations in pediatric medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE also supported the opening of the Children\u2019s National Research & Innovation Campus through a 2019 commitment. The campus represents the first pediatric innovation hub of its kind, where scientists, inventors, caregivers, patients\u2019 families and health authorities come together to advance pediatric health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Children\u2019s National Rare Disease Institute and Centre for Genetic Medicine Research are two of the teams housed at the campus. Together, they are pioneering care for children in the Washington region and abroad as an international referral site for rare disorders. Two examples of their research endeavours include: next-generation genomic testing to better understand how differences in genetic material can affect human health and identifying biochemical analytes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE opened a medical office in Washington, D.C., in 1991. Since then, thousands of Emirati patients have visited Children\u2019s National for lifechanging care for conditions such as congenital heart disease, neurological disorders and cancer. The hospital is currently treating 40 Emirati patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHaving our child treated at Children’s National means accessing specialized pediatric care from a renowned institution dedicated to children’s health,\u201d said Hamad Alnuaimi, an Emirati father of a Children\u2019s National patient. \u201cIt provides us with confidence and reassurance that our son is receiving the best possible medical attention from experts who understand and prioritise the unique needs of children. For the UAE to have a strong relationship with Children’s National signifies a valuable connection that enhances pediatric healthcare in our country. This partnership allows us to benefit from advanced treatments, medical innovations, and expertise that might otherwise be inaccessible. It represents a commitment to improving the health and well-being of children through international collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Continuing a 30-year partnership that has yielded 82 U.S. patents and countless medical breakthroughs for kids and their families, the Government of the United Arab Emirates has strengthened its transformational commitment to Children\u2019s National Hospital with a new $35 million donation focused on prenatal, neonatal and maternal health. The announcement of the new gift comes …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":60588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-health","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60589,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60587\/revisions\/60589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}