Abu Dhabi is prioritizing the training of African health workers over short-term medical missions, aiming to build self-sufficient health systems. Yet the same skills that make local professionals effective also make them attractive to Gulf employers raising questions about who ultimately benefits.
Emergency medical assistance saves lives but does not guarantee long-term continuity of care. Short-term interventions, however essential, quickly show their limits when they are not accompanied by strengthening local capacities.
That is precisely where the United Arab Emirates intends to steer its health cooperation with Africa: prioritizing the training of local health professionals to build systems capable of functioning sustainably without constant reliance on outside expertise.
This approach is illustrated by the « Jaheziya International » program, inaugurated on April 8, 2026, by the Emirates Doctors Initiative in collaboration with the European Centre for Disaster Medicine.
The international mechanism for harmonized training builds on a national experience that has prepared more than 20,000 frontline personnel from over 200 nationalities. Its ambition includes spreading common standards in emergency management across different countries.
At the same time, Abu Dhabi is developing skills-building initiatives on the African continent. The Brazil-Africa Institute (IBRAF) has reported Emirati financial support to train young Africans, with a component on community health workers envisaged in the scheme.
The value of such an approach goes well beyond the simple transmission of medical knowledge. Professionals trained in their own environment generally have a better grasp of socio-cultural realities, local languages, the most prevalent diseases and the difficulties populations face. Unlike time-limited external interventions, these investments can produce lasting benefits and gradually strengthen the autonomy of national health structures.
However, one major difficulty deserves scrutiny: the ability of African countries to retain the personnel who have benefited from this training. The mobility of health workers is already a significant concern.
In South Africa, the nurses’ union reports that several destinations, including the UAE, are actively recruiting South African nurses. Union representatives warn about the consequences of these departures for the country’s health facilities.
The situation reveals a particularly telling paradox. In Abu Dhabi, 96% of the health sector workforce is foreign, compared with 90% in Dubai, according to a report noting growing dependence on nurses from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda in particular. Thus, the skills acquired through training programs can also increase the attractiveness of African professionals on the Gulf labor market.
For this cooperation to produce results genuinely beneficial to Africa, several safeguards appear essential: integrating training into national structures, offering mechanisms that encourage retention, improving career prospects in public institutions and providing appropriate equipment.
African governments therefore have a decisive role to play in negotiating these partnerships. They must ensure that the acquisition of new skills is accompanied by material resources and professional opportunities at home. Otherwise, partner countries risk benefiting more from the expertise produced than the populations the programs were originally intended to serve.
The success of the UAE’s health engagement will ultimately be measured by its ability to sustainably consolidate human resources and the autonomy of African health systems.
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