Low-income migrant workers in the UAE are being disproportionately affected by a prolonged dengue outbreak following April’s devastating floods, FairSquare said today.

On 16 April this year, the UAE experienced record levels of rainfall, causing widespread flooding, serious damage to infrastructure and housing, and the deaths of at least four people. The floods left pools of stagnant water across the country, creating breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that spread dengue, and the intervening months have seen a wave of cases of dengue. 

Interviews by researchers working with FairSquare with a government official and three healthcare workers speaking anonymously, and insights from migrant workers from different emirates indicate that nearly three months after the floods, mosquito breeding sites in marginalised areas housing migrants have been neglected, and migrant workers who have contracted dengue have faced serious challenges accessing healthcare...

Despite government clean-up initiatives, ponds of stagnant water that act as breeding grounds remained across the country in late June, particularly in industrial areas where migrant workers live and work, and in Emirates with less developed infrastructure such as Sharjah, Ajman, and Ras Al Khaimah. In June, the government issued guidance which included specific instructions on how to prevent mosquitoes in industrial and construction sites...

One migrant who works in one of Dubai’s industrial free zones told researchers there was a stark contrast in how quickly the water had been cleared up in major urban areas, as opposed to where he works and lives, and that in his area the water was only cleared after his employer complained to the authorities about workers getting sick. A resident of Ras Al Khaimah said that there was a pool of water in his neighbourhood for over a month after the rains, and that even after that was cleared, mosquitoes remained...