Future healthcare and governance policies and plans were discussed on Wednesday at the Harvard Business School GCC Alumni Club’s Crossroads GCC Future Impact Forum.

H.H. Dr Maha bint Mishari bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Vice President, Al Faisal University, speaking at a session - ‘Planning for GCC’s Future Healthcare Systems’ said that during a time of change and increased public private partnership in the healthcare sector, physicians have to be advocated.

“I'd like to advocate one thing that I see is totally forgotten in the whole issue, it is advocacy for the physicians we have,” she said.

“We are shifting towards private health insurance, in the Kingdom, and we are going to be advocating for our patients but we do not have a budget that works for the physicians and interfaces their needs and their issues or collaborates for their research and their meetings."

"I think this is very important from a governance dimension,” she added.

In a session focused on ‘Climate Adaptation’ panellists agreed that sustainability has come a long way in the UAE due to a solid future-focused vision supported by the creation of highly effective policies and regulations.

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Paddy Padmanathan, CEO, ACWA Power, KSA, discussed the challenges facing water and energy and called on all parties to safeguard this critical infrastructure.

“Everybody is impacted by climate change. We are all in the same boat and we all need to find a solution,” he said.

"We are now consciously looking at solutions and the questions are around a willingness to invest in technologies such as AI or machine learning and this is good news because we can find solutions faster by working together."

Ibrahim Al Zu’bi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Majid Al-Futtaim Holding, UAE, said it was essential to take a holistic approach to sustainability and adaption.

Now with the UAE hosting the COP28 international climate conference, the focus will be on how the business world will be shaped by climate change in the next 15 to 20 years.

Alexis Lecanuet, Senior Regional Managing Director, Accenture Middle East, meanwhile, said his company was focused on climate adaptation and decarbonization with plans to be net zero by 2025 supported by plans to transition to renewable energy.

Adaptation is critical in every respect, he said, from tackling the challenges of climate change to building a company that can adapt with relevance in the face of the next industry or technological disruption.

The forum, held at the Dubai Museum of the Future, continues on September 15 discussing challenges and solutions to national competencies, governance, food security, healthcare, sustainability and the digital economy in the GCC.

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