A prolongued dengue outbreak after severe flooding in the UAE is disproportionately affecting low-income migrant workers, according to a new report...

But ponds of stagnant water remained as recently as late June in areas with high populations of migrant workers, including in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Ras al-Khaimah. 

A migrant worker in Sonapur, a neighbourhood of Dubai with 200,000 migrant labourers, said floodwater had remained for weeks after the flooding...

"It is clear that certain areas of the country have been neglected in the response, particularly the clearing up of water," James Lynch of Fair Square, told Middle East Eye. 

He said that "deep structural reasons" contribute to difficulty in access to healthcare for migrant communities, including reliance on employers for medical insurance and for information. He added that while some employers had good policies, it was effectively a "lottery". 

"The UAE and other Gulf states have got to look at how workers can have equality of access to healthcare, so it doesn't depend on their employer," said Lynch. "And the best way of doing that is to give people access to healthcare free of charge at the point of delivery." ...

Mohammed Mahmoud, director of the climate and water programme at the Middle East Institute, said climate change “is an absolute driver of extreme weather”...