Emirati Genome Programme
Six years at the sample-collection sites of Fujairah and the Eastern Region
Our role
Swaed UAESwaed UAE runs the programme's volunteer presence in Fujairah and the Eastern Region. Its chair, Fatima Al Shehyari, directs the programme's sites there. Volunteers register participants, welcome and guide them, explain the programme, invite the public to take the test, audit the collected data and organise the home-visit schedules for people who cannot come to a centre. The work has run every month since January 2023 in every hospital and health centre of Fujairah and the Eastern Region, and in the community: majlises, festivals, National Day, exhibitions and government offices.
- Al Khaleej · 28 March 2023 ↗
Fatima Al Shehyari: helping others is a divine calling
The programme
PartnerThe Emirati Genome Programme is the national project that sequences the genomes of Emirati citizens to build a reference genome, understand the genetic diseases common in the population and move healthcare towards prevention and personalised treatment. Launched in 2019 as a partnership between the Department of Health Abu Dhabi and G42 (now M42), it grew to more than 100 sample-collection sites across the country and had analysed the data of more than 440,000 citizens by June 2023, on the way to one million.
Emirati Genome Programme (Emirates Genome Council; Department of Health Abu Dhabi and M42), with the Ministry of Health and Prevention and Emirates Health Services
Where we work
6| Fujairah HospitalMain site, Jul–Nov 2023 and monthly since |
| Dibba HospitalWith Dibba Municipality since Dec 2021 |
| Masafi Hospital |
| Khorfakkan Hospital |
| Kalba HospitalKalba Festival, June 2023 |
| Dar Rashid, Fujairah Culture and Media AuthorityCommunity day, 10 April 2023 and 2024 |
Timeline
2021 –| 2021-07 | First participation, with Fujairah Police, Sharjah Police and G42. |
| 2021-12 | Public data registration with Dibba Municipality. |
| 2023-01 | Monthly operation begins in every hospital and health centre of Fujairah and the Eastern Region. |
| 2023-03 | The programme at the Volunteering Exhibition. |
| 2023-04 | Community day at Dar Rashid with the Fujairah Social and Cultural Society. |
| 2023-06 | Kalba Festival; home-visit schedules organised for the summer. |
| 2023-07 | Fujairah Hospital site opens on the platform: 99 volunteers, 290 verified hours to November. |
| 2023-12 | National Day campaign, 60 volunteers over four days. |
| 2024 | Twelve more months of continuous operation; certificates from the national programme for the volunteers. |
| 2026 | Still running: weekly site reports March to September 2026. |
On the record
Our record| 25 Jul 2023 | Emirati Genome Program in FujairahNear Fujairah Mall, Anajaimat Didaa Road - Al Nijaimat - Fujairah | 99 volunteers · 290 hours |
| 16 Aug 2021 | Emirati Genome Programme registration, SharjahSharjah | 0 volunteers |
Figures come from the association’s admin reports and the verified record; the programme’s national figures from its own announcements.