The formation of Al Jalila Foundation was announced on 26 November 2012 by an official decree 23/2012 to form a foundation for the promotion of innovative medical research and medical education in the United Arab Emirates. The activities of the foundation commenced on 1 April 2014 from its office at Building no. 27 of the Dubai Healthcare City, a free economic zone dedicated to the healthcare sector. The organization has a two tier administrative structure. A six-member Board of Trustees, chaired by Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum with Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor of the Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Foundation as the vice chairman and Abdul Hameed Ahmed Seddiqi, Abdughaffar Hussain, Hussaein Abdul Rahman Khansaheb and Raja Easa Saleh Al Gurg as members constitute the apex body which oversees the activities. The lower body, the Board of Directors, is composed of Raja Easa Saleh Al Gurg as the chairperson, Khaled Mohammed Al Zahed as the vice chairperson and Nart Mamser, Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama and Essam Al Tamimi as the members. Abdul Kareem Al Olama serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Najib Al Khaja, the Secretary General of the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences is the Ambassador of Hope of the foundation. The funding of the activities are by way of government grants and donations from philanthropic organizations and individuals. The organization has set up its website for accepting online donations and encourage philanthropists to assist the foundation in its activities. On 14 July 2015, the Aster DM Healthcare, a Dubai-based healthcare conglomerate chaired by Azad Moopen, made a contribution of 2.72 million to the foundation. It also raises funds by organizing social and sports activities.
Objectives
The foundation is mandated to develop a new generation of medical professionals within the UAE by enhancing the medical education and treatment facilities in the country and to support advanced research for achieving medical innovations. It has based its activities on three main themes such as medical research, education and treatment.
Activities
The foundation has revealed its plans to establish a research centre, Al Jalila Foundation Research Centre, the first standalone medical research facility in the country, to be located within the Dubai Healthcare City. It is designed to be a 10 storeyed structure housing research laboratories, clinics and administration offices at a cost of 27 million and will focus on research on diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and mental health. The centre is expected to be functional by April 2016 and will offer research fellowships, post graduate scholarships and grants to scientists based in the country for their research activities in the country or abroad. It has launched a medical research fund, Majlis Al Ata’a, for developing local scientists in association with global and regional scientific institutions. The corpus of the fund, 8.1 million, has been raised through philanthropic assistance of local businesses and individuals such as Khalaf Al Habtoor, Raja Eisa Al Gurg, Abdul Ghaffar Hussain, Riyadh Sadek, Mohammad Al Ansari, Siddharth Balachandran and Dubai Holding among others. The fund will operate from within the scope of services of the upcoming Al Jalila Foundation Research Centre and will be housed in the centre. A’awen fund, a programme initiated by the foundation, provides assistance to patients in the UAE who are financially compromised to go for medical treatment. The foundation organizes career fairs in health services to create awareness among Emarati students about career opportunities in the healthcare sector. It has collaborations with universities in the UAE for selecting deserving candidates for its scholarship schemes. It has also entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for promotion of medical education in the country. The agreement is expected support the six-month training program, Ta'alouf,, launched by the foundation in association with the Zayed University.
