The Zayed Authority for People of Determination signed a cooperation agreement with Kids Heart Medical Centres and Heart Medical Centre according to a report by the Emirates News Agency. The pact focuses on joint programmes that cover early assessment and diagnosis specialised rehabilitation psychological counselling and social behavioural support to improve quality of life and advance social inclusion. Abdulla Abdulalee Al Humaidan Secretary-General of the authority said the agreement reflects the organisation’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with leading medical institutions to expand early intervention specialised rehabilitation and psychological support services. The collaboration also incorporates training capacity-building and the exchange of scientific professional expertise to better integrate healthcare with social services.
Areas of cooperation include sign language training developing communication skills for staff working with People of Determination and participation in events organised by the authority. The agreement further extends to support for marketing products made by People of Determination and the provision of Braille printing services to promote greater accessibility. Kids Heart Medical Centres will supply an integrated system for early assessment and diagnosis in children along with specialised services such as physiotherapy occupational therapy speech and language therapy plus psychological counselling and family social support programmes.
The initiative aligns with the authority’s record of delivering 83,671 therapeutic and rehabilitation sessions in 2025 according to figures published by the Abu Dhabi Media Office. That year the authority provided services to more than 28,000 beneficiaries including 2,100 students enrolled in its care and rehabilitation centres across Abu Dhabi. A national policy issued by the Ministry of Health and Prevention in January 2026 established seven strategic goals to improve preventive care treatment specialised services and integrated habilitation rehabilitation systems for People of Determination across the UAE.
The agreement builds on several similar partnerships the authority formed in 2024 and 2025 including memorandums with Stanford Medical Centre Abu Dhabi Mediclinic Middle East and Burjeel Medical City. Those deals similarly targeted expanded access to mental health assessments specialised therapies and family training programmes. The authority’s 2025 annual review also noted the issuance of 2,990 specialised assessment reports that informed individual therapeutic and educational plans for beneficiaries.
Al Humaidan emphasised that such partnerships help align services with international standards while supporting research awareness and employment readiness initiatives. The authority maintains 19 care and rehabilitation centres and has achieved full Emiratisation in its executive and supervisory roles according to its year-end summary published by WAM. Officials indicated the new agreement with Kids Heart will include referrals for post-surgical rehabilitation and tailored speech therapy based on beneficiary location and needs.
