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28 March 2024

Medicals, fingerprint, eye scan all in home country for expat workers

Members of GCC Labour Expat Committee meet in Dubai

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By Staff

The Labour Expat GCC committee held its 14th meeting in Dubai last week and Nasser Khelifa Al Budoor, Assistant Undersecretary and Member of the Executive Office for GCC Health Ministers Council, llauded efforts of the committee members for health services in the GCC region.

He said: “The executive office formed a committee to meet all health requirements needed by coming arrivals to the UAE.

“Required clinical laboratory and radiological tests can now take place in certain centres in  their countries to ensure their safety before arrival and freedom from infectious or other diseases that may affect public health.”

“These centres cover 11 countries of which seven are in South East Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia and Nepal) and 3 others in Africa (Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia).

“The tests are done for about 1.7 million labourers in the GCC region on annual basis; therefore we expect the number to increase or decrease due to the addition or exclusion of new centres,” he added.

Al Budoor explained that the completion of phase one of the electronic link programme between health centres in countries exporting expat labour.

“The council is now working on phase two to include the introduction of fingerprinting such as finger and eye prints, taking advantage of mobile and SMS services.

“The applicant can login, register his/her data online then receive a text message stating the desired centre to go for examination.

“The Labour Expat Overseas Programme will have a positive impact on labourers themselves as this would save them effort and money and at the same time avoid diseases dangers, infection dissemination and high costs”, he said.