In the past 18 months, the virus that most gripped the world's attention has not been the polio virus. Yet, even during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, polio has remained a threat in a few remaining parts of the world.
The paralysing disease afflicts spinal cords of children aged 5 and younger. Regions need to be constantly monitored so that cases don't re-appear. As infectious as the virus is infamously known to be, the campaign to rid the world of it, had been halted for 18 months due to the pandemic. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the last two countries with endemic polio.
Today, as another World Polio Day is marked, an occasion arises to evaluate the gains made globally and the work that remains – including, crucially, battling misinformation and vaccine hesitancy – to meet the end goal set 30 years ago, of eradicating the disease.
Over the years, the UAE has delivered financial support and made enormous efforts towards this end, with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, having pledged more than $250 million since 2011.
Last July, amid the pandemic, the UAE became the first country to resume the polio vaccination programme, supporting door-to-door campaigns in Pakistan, where 12 million children have already benefited. On Saturday, the World Health Organisation said the UAE had boosted Pakistan's fight with funds to the tune of $23m.
Polio eradication is one of those missions that exemplifies what is possible when countries champion global concerns and join other stakeholders to deliver a common vision – goals grow within reach.
Since 1988, progress in this regard has been significant and measurable. According to the WHO, wild poliovirus cases decreased by over 99 per cent – from an estimated 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries in 1998 to 175 reported cases in 2019. Such landmark numbers are the outcome of joint efforts and teamwork headed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, led by national governments, WHO, Unicef, and among others, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Contributions of donor countries and the pledges of stakeholders are a lifeline to the larger goal
Two of the three strains of wild poliovirus (type 1, 2 and 3) have been eradicated. The world can be close to putting the lid on the disease for good if type 1 is eradicated. As of 2020, it continues to affect the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
After years of progress in Afghanistan – where they managed to keep a check on polio infections – the trend in the past two years has been worrisome. Due to violence and unrest, cases have surged. This is an ominous sign not just for the country and its 3.3 million children in need of the vaccine; as we've seen with the coronavirus, infections don't conform to borders and geographies. Children everywhere – who have not been inoculated – are at risk of contracting the disease, unless all parts of the world are 100 per cent polio free.
In a positive development that, however, needs to be viewed with a measure of scepticism, this week the Taliban said it will not impede the inoculation campaign, which is set to pick up pace from November. This is at least a step in the right direction because of the incidents of violence earlier in the year – three women medical workers were killed in Jalalabad as they went about doing their duties of administering polio drops in the eastern parts of the country. Such cases of violence are tragic on their own but they also rob any fragile headway made in global health campaigns. Polio eradication efforts must be allowed to continue safely until every child has been inoculated, their chances of healthy futures massively increased.
To this end, and not just in areas of strife, the contributions of donor countries and the pledges of stakeholders are a lifeline to the larger goal of ensuring that all children in all parts of the world can live healthy, polio-free lives.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Profile
Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Number of employees: seven
Sector: e-learning
Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
