Hamdan medical award cash prizes raised to Dh20m

Dubai: The cash awards for the prestigious Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences has been increased to Dh20 million this year from the current Dh14 million.

The move is in line with overall strategy of the country in general and that of Dubai in particular, said Mirza Al Sayegh, Member of the Board of Trustees of the award.

He said the award has become a major institution on the local, regional and global levels encouraging innovation, invention in medical sciences as well as voluntary work in healthcare.

The award was set up seven years ago to acknowledge the medical scientists and doctors serving humanity. Al Sayegh also said the initiative was a step to encourage all government and private sectors to support scientists to conduct their scientific research and to consider it a part of their schedules.

Forty scientific researches were backed by the award up to date, costing over Dh7 million.

The Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences also printed a book on Thalassemia, for Huda Mohammad Shahin, the researcher and lecturer at the Emirates University, which is an advanced book about this disease and helps in creating awareness in the current and coming generations about this disease.

The award consists of three categories, namely UAE awards, Arab awards and International awards.

The international award includes the Grand Hamdan International Award, Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence and Hamdan Award for Volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services.