UAE logs on to the future of e-governance at Gitex

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Tuesday stressed the importance of technology and telecommunication services.

Sheikh Mohammed visited Gitex at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre, accompanied by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

He was briefed on how e-gate cards at Dubai airport and other e-services are functioning. He also listened to a Department of Naturalisation and Residency Administration presentation on how Dubai airport's specialised laboratory examines the official documents of passengers travelling through the airport.

An array of new e-services have been launched at Gitex technology week. While, the UAE Government portal (government.ae) was launched on the first day to integrate all government services, the Ministry of Environment and Water will unveil several e-services during the week.

Etisalat, too, launched its innovative mHealth application, which will harness mobile technology for providing vital, relevant and customised information on healthcare, while Dubai Healthcare City unveiled its new website on Monday.

Government portal

On behalf of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE Government portal (government.ae) on the first day of Gitex 2010.

The portal is part of the federal e-Government programme and another success in the e-Transformation process in the UAE. It combines all government services offered to individuals and businesses.

Salem Al Shair, Director-General, General Information Authority, explained that the unified portal of the UAE Government is an important step towards achieving the UAE Vision 2021. The Vision stresses the importance of effective coordination and cooperation among federal and local entities in order for the UAE to be one of the best countries in the world when it celebrates the golden jubilee of the Union in 2021.

In addition to the English domain government.ae, the portal can be accessed through the domain name (.emarat) using Arabic leters. Using the Arabic domain name proves that while the Government is determined to keep up with the latest in e-Transformation, it maintains its national identity and culture. The move also helps the government communicate with a wide user segment that was reluctant to use the Internet because of the language barrier.

Government.ae is the only official site that combines federal government services as well as services offered by individual emirates. It is a practical embodiment that the seven emirates are "United in Knowledge," as stated in the UAE vision 2021.

The new federal E-government portal adopts many Web 2.0 features, providing a variety of interactive channels between the Government and the public.

New e-services from Ministry of Environment and Water

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment and Water is launching a number of new electronic services at Gitex in the presence of Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd, Minister of Environment.

The launch of comes in line with the strategic objective of the ministry to upgrade services delivered to public to get their satisfaction, save time and energy as well.

Ayesha Al Jesmi, Director of the department of IT, said the ministry has already transformed 64 per cent of its services into the electronic services, adding that the ministry's new electronic services are being showcased at Gitex. They include dazardous materials management system, national network for monitoring of air quality, e-employment system and others.

Dubai Health Authority's new website

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) unveiled the new DHA website at Gitex technology conference on Sunday. The website, www.dha.gov.ae, has been designed keeping e-government requirements. With this DHA is now one of the few government institutions in Dubai which provides complete comprehensive customer focussed information through its website.

The main website has 12 sub-sites linked to it including Dubai Hospital, Rashid Hospital, Al Wasl Hospital, DHA Medical Education, DHA Health Regulation etc.

Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of the DHA, said: "As the strategic health authority of Dubai, we wanted to ensure that we tailor our information to meet the needs of different stakeholders. Thus the website has a separate  interface which provides specific information for users such as patients, investors, students, researchers, employees and professionals."  The system can also provide package options, depending on the urgency level.

This means the customer no longer needs to navigate and search for the tests required as the website will provide all the details.

The DHA aims to work towards further integration with the private sector to expand its scope of services on the website. The new website also has an enhanced online patient record system so that patients can access to medical records online.

All DHA facilities are marked on Google maps and users can pull out any information they like in the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) format.

mHealth application from etisalat

Etisalat unveiled an innovative Mobile Health (mHealth) application on Monday. The application will be the first such interactive application to be showcased in the UAE that will harness mobile technology for providing vital, relevant and customised information on healthcare.

Users of this application will be able to seek medical information, pertaining to a wide variety of topics on healthcare using their mobiles. Users will also be able to seek active medical advice from consultants on their chosen topics such as obesity and diet, exercise and sports, diabetes etc. regularly via SMS.

Based on the etisalat's 'Value SMS' platform, mHealth will enable users to send their relevant health related information like their weight and age, to a four digit code. Based on the information provided, users will receive personalised information and updates on their Body Mass Index, daily calorie requirement and daily water requirement. Users will also be able to access quick information and consultation, and receive active SMS alerts on the health topics of their choice.

ADJD launches three new e-services

Abu Dhabi Judicial Department launched three new e-services provided by its Notary Public Section on Sunday. This step is yet another leading development meant to support ADJD's efforts to achieve the objectives of its strategy 2008-2013, including easy access to justice through innovative use of the newest IT technologies. Be it power of attorney, signature approval, or declaration, applying for and obtaining any of these services from the Notary Public, now require only few clicks. Once the application is successfully submitted, applicant will receive SMS on his mobile phone with confirmation and reference number of transaction.

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