Yumnak puts home care, transport and housing help for Dubai's seniors on one number

Dubai Health has launched Yumnak, an initiative that gathers health, social support, transport and housing services for senior citizens in Dubai behind one phone number, 800 588. The name means "your right hand" in Arabic, a nod to help and companionship. It covers senior citizens aged 60 and over and was built, its organisers say, from feedback given by older people themselves in workshops.

Six Dubai entities take part: the Dubai Health Authority, the Community Development Authority, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment and Almadallah Healthcare Management. Yumnak sits under City Makers, a programme of the General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai that began in 2014, and was launched at Emirates Towers.

What it brings together: Dubai Health provides care at home, including doctor visits, nursing, dental care and physiotherapy, and delivers medicines and medical supplies to the door. For eligible people, Almadallah arranges medical equipment and home nursing. Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services drives people with limited mobility to their appointments in equipped ambulances, booked through the appointment system, and Dubai Health also runs its own vehicles between patients' homes and its facilities.

On the social side, the Community Development Authority connects older people with support including the Thukher card, which is applied for on the DubaiNow app, financial support for eligible carers, and Waleef, a home care service for seniors who live alone. Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment assesses homes and carries out changes such as safer layouts, appointing the contractors, while Dubai Municipality offers designs for residential annexes suited to older residents. A training programme for family members and carers runs alongside.

The Director General of the Dubai Health Authority, Dr Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, said the aim is continuity of care and easier access, beyond treatment alone.

For families, the practical step is the phone line. Calling 800 588 lets you ask which services a parent or relative qualifies for, follow up on requests already made and book some services directly. Each service keeps its own eligibility rules, which the line can explain, and carers can register for the training programme through Dubai Health. The organisers have not published fees for the individual services.