Something big just occurred in the UAE, which the majority haven’t quite got their heads around yet. President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has made a decision that’s going to completely change the nature of emergency services across the country. It’s not just another government reshuffle – it is about life and death situations, and how fast assistance gets to people in times of disasters or medical emergencies.
Major shake-up puts emergency services under one roof
The UAE government decided that it was time to stop having different agencies affecting pieces of the emergency response puzzle. Too many cooks in the kitchen, you may say. So on October 12th, President Sheikh Mohamed signed a federal decree that basically says “enough is enough” to the current fragmented system.
What’s really interesting here is that Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, who’s already the Minister of Health and Prevention, got tapped to run this whole operation. Makes sense when you think about it – medical emergencies and health policy should probably be coordinated with someone who understands how things are on both sides of the equation.
The new Federal Authority for Ambulance and Civil Defence isn’t just getting a new sexy name. It’s getting real power – legal independence, its own budget, and the power to make the decisions without getting bogged down in bureaucratic red tape. That is at least pretty substantial in terms of government.
Gone is the ancient system of command
Here’s where things get interesting, though – this new authority is basically replacing two existing organizations. The Civil Defence Authority and National Guard Command (at least the part that was organized for the National Ambulance Company) are getting absorbed into this new setup. It is the restructuring of the corporations to the service of the emergency services.
The statistics provide a rather story
When you consider what this authority will be dealing with, the scale becomes quite apparent rather quickly. In September 2025, over 73 thousand emergency calls were served by the National Ambulance Division only. That is around 270 crises every day – traffic accidents, heart attacks, industrial accidents, etc.
The authority won’t just be responding to emergencies, though. Preventing is also an unenviable but important job they do. Consider fire safety check-ups, emergency planning, and ensuring the safety of buildings. It is the type of back-of-the-house job that no one pays attention to until something goes amiss.
What the new authority will concern itself with:
- All ambulance services in the country
- Fire safety and building inspections.
- Planning for emergency evacuation
- Public warning systems
Local administrations retain their position
The clever thing about this restructuring is that the local emergency services do not receive an unconditional stream of funding. The federal decree states in particular that local authorities are able to pursue their own ambulance and civil defense, based on existing laws. It’s more coordination rather than control.
Why is this important beyond the UAE
Other nations in the region are likely to be watching this very closely. The UAE has a history of experimenting with new methods of providing government services, and if this is successful, don’t be surprised if such consolidations begin occurring elsewhere in the Gulf. Whether this new structure will be really beneficial in terms of response times and coordination in the case of significant emergencies will be the real experiment. On paper, having one authority tackle everything from ambulances to disaster planning is a perfect solution.
In practice, government reorganizations don’t always bring the promised improvements. The UAE is gambling that the need to create one umbrella of emergency services will save people and enhance performance. Considering what they have done with ambitious projects, they may simply draw them down. Whether this gamble pays off remains to be seen when the next big crisis is experienced.