20 per cent increase in visitor turnout to Arab Health 2006 underscores region's robust healthcare sector

Although a final tally of the value of deals signed during the four-day exhibition was not immediately available, estimates suggest the number will be substantially higher than the $40 million worth of deals generated last year. Siemens Medical Solutions alone secured a $27 million contract from the Saudi German Hospitals group to supply the latest SGH Group hospital in Yemen during the exhibition. GE Healthcare also announced a $5 million contracts value in the early days of Arab Health 2006, alongside other significant deals involving major providers.

"Arab Health is a complete reflection of expenditure in the regional market," said Vicky Lee, Exhibition Director, IIR Middle East. "There is an increased level of expenditure at the moment, and we don't anticipate any slowdown. The regional healthcare market is growing 10 to 15 percent every year, not just in the UAE but across the region. There aren't very many places in the world where the sector is this dynamic."

"The Middle East healthcare sector is outperforming in terms of what targets the service and equipment providers are setting for this region," Lee added.

"The Middle East region is outperforming North America, Europe and Asia in growth terms, and most companies are exceeding their expectations here."

The next Arab Health will be held from January 27 to 31, 2007, and exhibitors at Arab Health 2006 - which occupied all 10 halls of the Dubai International Exhibition Centre - are already clamouring for additional space in the 2007 edition. The German, Chinese and American pavilions have booked 15%, 30% and 25% larger spaces respectively. More than 2,000 companies from 50 countries participated in this year's Arab Health, alongside 30 national pavilions.

Jean Marc Andral, Regional Manager Sales for GE Healthcare Technologies, said he was impressed by the show's evolution over the last decade, and said Arab Health is no longer just a bellwether for the regional healthcare industry, but a significant international congress in its own right.

"For GE, Arab Health is one of the most significant medical shows in the world," Andral said. "Much of the technology we are displaying here has only been shown once internationally, at its debut in North America in December 2005, and we are using this opportunity to reach out not just to the Middle East, but also to our clients in South and North Africa, Asia and Europe."

Closer to home, Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of the Department of Health and Medical Services, Government of Dubai, said several specialty teams from the DOHMS network had visited the exhibition and would be reporting back on the available technologies in the coming weeks.

"Arab Health is a very important exhibition for the whole of DoHMS, as it makes it possible for us to see and incorporate cutting-edge technology and information," he said. DoHMS has also signed up for a new picture and archiving communication system to link the 30 facilities within its network, he added.

More than 6,000 physicians from around the region also attended the Arab Health Congress' 12 scientific and medical conferences that ran parallel to the exhibition. Headlined by the Leaders in Healthcare conference, the congress also included four brand-new conferences including the Middle East Obs-Gyne Conference, Middle East Spinal Surgery Symposium and the Interventional Radiology Conference.