More than 80,000 professionals and volunteers have been working diligently to protect the communities at the forefront in the UAE amid the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The Frontline Heroes Office on Monday announced that it has created a national database with the details of the frontline workers as part of an initiative to recognise and celebrate the efforts of those who have been serving for the people of the UAE.

The data of frontline workers for the registry has been provided by various authorities at the federal and emirate level which have been participating in the national efforts against the pandemic crisis, including, the entities under the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) along with licensed healthcare facilities in every emirate.

Among the 80,000 professionals are various Emirati and expatriate residents including healthcare professionals, police personnel, crisis managers, essential service providers, security and emergency service providers, humanitarian agencies, sanitisation workersand volunteers.

The Frontline Heroes Office was formed by the UAE authorities in July 2020 as part of the decree from President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, under the directives of Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

The Frontline Heroes Office has been launched with the aim of listening and responding to the challenges faced by UAE’s frontline professionals and to address their needs through all forms of solutions. The Office also aims to recognise and celebrate those professionals and volunteers who have sacrificed and risked their lives for protecting others in the country. The Office has partnered and collaborated with a number of government authorities, the private sector and the larger community across the UAE with the help of various initiatives and programmes in a bid to support the need of the frontline heroes.

Speaking over the development, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Frontline Heroes Office board, affirmed that the country's frontline heroes put their own health and wellbeing at risk to protect the lives of people across the nation.

"We owe it to them to recognise their heroic efforts and to ensure that we are providing them and their families with the same level of protection and support they offer us,” he said.

Dr Maha Barakat, Director-General at the Frontline Heroes Office, added that the office is a permanent federal entity which was established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that a strong and comprehensive network of the UAE's frontline professionals is maintained by the authorities. This will also facilitate effective response to any future crisis or emergency posing a challenge to the country and its people. She also emphasised on the need to stay prepared to ensure immediate and effective response to any ongoing crisis or emergency arriving in the future for the protection of the people and society.

"To help our nation maintain a frontline workforce ready and able to take on the sacrifices and risks we ask, we owe it to them to ensure they are appropriately recognised and supported by our government and our people. Our first task has been to directly engage with and listen to our frontline heroes to truly understand what matters most to them,” Dr Barakat added.

Reportedly, the Frontline Heroes Office surveyed approximately 8,000 frontline healthcare professionals working in medical facilities in the UAE and volunteers working under the NCEMA umbrella to effectively carry out its support and recognition programmes. Through the survey, the Office directly interacted with the frontline workers across the UAE with the aim to understand the challenges and difficulties they face which can be addressed by the authorities.

During the survey, it was found that overall job satisfaction was high among UAE healthcare professionals working at the frontline, with approximately 85 percent of those surveyed stated they were satisfied with their jobs even amid pandemic-related pressures. 85 percent of the respondents also expressed satisfaction about the quality of the facilities, infrastructure and adequate availability of essential resources to deal with the crisis. At the same time, nearly 95 percent of the respondents were immensely satisfied and supportive with the UAE government's handling of the crisis and national response to the pandemic outbreak, which is significantly greater than reports coming from other countries across the world.

The Frontline Heroes Office also identified few challenges in the research findings, affirming to address them through its support programme. As per reports, the five main areas of challenges identified by the Office are overall health and wellbeing, recognition and appreciation, cost of living, job satisfaction, and long-term job retention.

Dr Barakat said that the UAE's frontline heroes have expressed genuine commitment and belief to the ‘united together’ mantra of the country's leadership for successful battle against the pandemic. She further stressed on the need to work for better understanding and responding to the pain points and challenges faced by the frontline heroes.

"We want to create an environment where these incredibly talented and committed frontline heroes receive the kind of support and recognition that makes them want to continue to build their careers and raise their families here in the UAE,” Dr. Barakat added.