Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health launches platform to supports virus-related research

The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), has collaborated with the Advanced Technology Research Council to introduce a unified platform to support R&D efforts in the combat against the ongoing pandemic, official news agency WAM reported.

The ‘National Registry for COVID-19‘ platform, available at DoH’s website, will facilitate scientific discoveries to tackle the contagion, provide real-time updates, and highlight the role of research to better understand and combat the virus.

DoH will also archive all research related to the SARS-CoV-2, the strain of coronavirus that causes Covid-19, which may provide valuable insights as part of ongoing scientific research.

The platform, which is a result of the collaboration between DoH and the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC), will also offer daily scientific reports including summaries of breakthroughs and updates on research about Covid-19, enabling healthcare professionals and public health officials to access information conveniently.

Dr. Asma Al Mannaei, director of Healthcare Quality Division at DoH said, “The modern world has never witnessed a pandemic like Covid-19. The health and well-being of individuals depend heavily on a global community of clinical researchers urgently coming together to find ways to apply their expertise and ideas, then translate them to successful applications and treatments. To that end, DoH has established the National Registry for COVID-19 that serves as a solid foundation for researchers and professionals working to combat the pandemic.”

“We encourage all clinical researchers to upload their research proposals related to Covid-19 on the platform to boost rapid scientific discovery and innovation, in addition to helping defeat the virus and control the pandemic across the world,” Al Mannaei added.

Dr. Shereena Al Mazrouei, director of health promotion at ADPHC stated that “the daily scientific report has as a special section for the research summaries issued from the Emirates in order to encourage researchers in carrying out research and publish it. In addition, the report provides data and analysis of the pandemic situation around the world.”

DoH has invited researchers and specialists working on Covid-19-related research to share their research proposals via the National Registry for COVID-19 platform.

The UAE has registered 40,507 Covid-19 cases and 284 related deaths since the virus broke out in China late last year.