A team of Emirati diplomats have visited a children’s hospital in the US capital and met families of some of the patients.
Twenty-eight Emiratis from the first graduating class of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi were given a tour of Children’s National Medical Centre, which is home to the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Paediatric Surgical Innovation in Washington DC.
“Our partnership with the UAE reflects our mutual commitment to provide all children, all around the world with quality paediatric healthcare,” said Dr Kurt Newman, president and chief executive of Children’s National.
“Hosting the Emirates Diplomatic Academy’s first graduating class provided a great opportunity for them to see how this shared vision is being translated to reality, thanks to the ongoing support of their government, and the UAE’s academic and healthcare sectors.”
The diplomats flew to the US to meet UAE partner organisations and see important UAE diplomatic programmes firsthand.
While at the centre, they met patient families from the UAE and were shown around the institute’s Centre for Cancer and Blood Disorders, and the Washington Nationals’ Paediatric Diabetes Care Complex.
The academy offers a nine-month programme providing a post-graduate diploma in UAE diplomacy and international relations. It has a network of 105 diplomatic missions abroad.
The Sheikh Zayed Institute for Paediatric Surgical Innovation opened in September 2009 following a gift from the Abu Dhabi government. Children’s National has ranked among the top 10 paediatric hospitals.
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