17-04-2025
US plans to cut billions in healthcare funding present an 'opportunity' for UAE, says CEO
Trump administration plans to scale back billions in government funding for healthcare, research, and disease control and prevention, represent both a challenge and opportunity for the UAE, says the CEO of Abu Dhabi's M42.
'Whatever is not being done in the US, we will do it here in Abu Dhabi,' Hasan Jasem al-Nowais told Al Arabiya's Hadley Gamble on Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Global Health Week.
The message comes as the Trump administration looks to enact sweeping reforms of US government-backed health agencies. Moves that have already caused concern amongst global health experts who fear downsizing could impact the fight against disease and the prevention of future pandemics.
According to reports, $40 billion, or one-third of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discretionary budget, National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding would be cut by $20 billion in 2026, a 40 percent reduction overall, with 27 current divisions absorbed into 8, and 4 eliminated completely.
But even while acknowledging the cuts, the CEO and President of Cleveland Clinic, USA, pushed back on claims that the President is defunding the NIH.
'It's not defunding the NIH,' Dr. Tom Mihaljevic told Gamble. '[Right now], for every dollar used for research areas, there's 60 percent of overhead. And this has been in place for such a long time that nobody ever questioned it.' he said.
Speaking alongside al-Nowais in Abu Dhabi, Mihaljevic sought to downplay the real world impact the administration's proposals might have, framing the move as an attempt by the White House to cut out wasteful spending.
'I think there is a reasonable case to be made about how… we allocate the research dollars, and can we use them more efficiently. Do we really need to use 60 percent overhead for every dollar that is issued? I think that's a legitimate question.'
