New guidelines aim to improve MS treatment in the UAE

For people living with MS, the path to effective treatment isn’t always straightforward. In the UAE, as in many parts of the world, differences in insurance policies, clinical protocols, and access to therapies have created an uneven landscape – one where care can vary significantly depending on where a person lives or who they see.

Ensuring that every person with MS in the UAE has access to the right treatment, at the right time, is a critical goal; variability in clinical practice and insurance decisions has meant that too often, access to care depends on geography or provider, rather than patient need.

To help address these disparities, the National MS Society in the UAE (NMSS) initiated the development of the country’s first national treatment guidelines for MS. These guidelines aim to support healthcare professionals, align clinical decision-making, and help ensure that more people across the UAE can access appropriate, evidence-based care.

Understanding the Problem and Finding a Solution

The NMSS was established in the UAE in 2022 to improve the lives of people living with MS and their communities, through education, advocacy and advancing global efforts to finding a cure for MS. One of the early observations was that care pathways for MS varied depending on location and provider. Without a national framework in place, insurance decisions were often based on cost or global standards, which didn’t always take into account what worked best for each patient.

To address this challenge, NMSS held a series of workshops MS neurologists from the UAE and other countries, government health officials, people living with MS, and insurance company representatives. It was recognised that national guidelines would help make MS care more equal across the country.

In early 2023, a task force was formed to write these guidelines. This taskforce was comprised of members of the NMSS Medical Advisory committee.

Creating the guidelines

Over the course of several months, the task force met regularly to discuss challenges, share insights, and build consensus. Drawing on both international best practice and real-world case studies from within the UAE, the group worked to develop a comprehensive set of national treatment guidelines tailored to the needs of patients and healthcare systems in the Emirates.

Their goal was to ensure that people with MS in the UAE could benefit from timely access to the most effective disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), regardless of where they live or which insurer they’re covered by. As part of the development process, a draft version of the guidelines was shared with 15 MS specialist neurologists across the country to gather feedback, strengthen clinical alignment, and build wider support.

In 2024, the final version of the NMSS Treatment Guidelines was published and made publicly available to support more unified, patient-centred MS care across the country. You can read them here: Disease modifying treatment guidelines for multiple sclerosis in the United Arab Emirates – Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

Putting the guidelines into action

Publishing the guidelines was just the first step. The next challenge was making sure that doctors and insurance providers acted on the recommendations. This means getting the guidelines adopted or endorsed at the government level. Because healthcare is managed separately in each Emirate, NMSS began working with individual health systems to support local adoption.

Talking to decision makers

To help translate the guidelines into action, NMSS developed a concise summary outlining key clinical and policy recommendations. This format made it easier to communicate the core objectives of the guidelines and their potential impact during discussions with health leaders and policy stakeholders.

NMSS then met with health officials. These meetings included neurologists who explained why high-efficacy DMTs and the ability to switch treatment are important. MS Ambassadors – volunteers trained by NMSS – also joined the meetings to share their personal stories. Their voices helped show why these changes really matter.

Government support and real change

In Abu Dhabi, the Department of Health used the NMSS guidelines to create their own MS Management Guidelines. These included a policy about the use of rituximab, a treatment that is not licensed for MS but is used “off-label” in many countries. Thanks to the efforts of MSIF and many global collaborators, rituximab is now on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines.

‘These new guidelines help address some of the access challenges people with MS have faced in the past, particularly around insurance approvals. They’re a step toward ensuring broader availability of high-efficacy, cost-effective treatments.’ — Yasmin Mitwally, Research and Advocacy Manager, NMSS UAE

In Dubai, the Health Authority has the ‘Ejada program’ of value-based healthcare, which means improving patient outcomes rather than simply focusing on cost. The NMSS guidelines were used as a model to create the Dubai guidelines for MS. This new system gives clear guidance for doctors and insurance companies, helping more people get the treatment they need.

What’s next?

The NMSS isn’t stopping here. They plan to work with other Emirates so that the guidelines can be implemented across the whole country. Also, with new updates coming to the MS McDonald diagnostic criteria, the NMSS is committed to ensuring that the guidelines stay up-to-date, evidence-based, and reflective of the UAE’s evolving healthcare landscape.

A recent webinar hosted by NMSS in July 2025 to introduce the guidelines drew close to 1,000 healthcare professionals across the region – an encouraging sign of growing interest across the community. This strong engagement will help drive momentum for broader adoption and implementation.

By bringing together local expertise, lived experience, and global standards, NMSS is helping build a more equitable and informed healthcare system for people with MS across the UAE.