SAKINA and SHM sign deal to bring mental health support into Abu Dhabi workplaces

Mental health in the workplace is no longer a soft issue. Across the GCC, regulators, employers, and health systems are starting to treat it as an operational priority, and this latest agreement from Abu Dhabi is a clear sign of that shift. SAKINA, the mental health network operating under SEHA, a subsidiary of PureHealth, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sustainable Health Management (SHM) to expand workplace mental health and organisational wellbeing programmes across the emirate.

The announcement positions SAKINA, already the leading mental health network in the UAE public health system, as a serious player in the corporate health space. SHM brings expertise in sustainable health strategy, making the two organisations a logical fit for what is essentially a long-term behaviour change challenge.

How will it work?

The MoU sets out a collaboration focused on Employee Assistance Programmes and organisational wellbeing initiatives tailored to Abu Dhabi-based employers. While the full scope is still being developed, the partnership is expected to cover several core areas:

• Design and delivery of Employee Assistance Programmes across corporate clients
• Mental health awareness and education for employees and managers
• Organisational assessments to identify wellbeing risks before they escalate
• Referral pathways connecting employees to SAKINA's clinical network when needed

That last point matters. One of the persistent weaknesses in corporate wellness programmes is the gap between awareness and actual clinical care. By connecting workplace support directly to a clinical network, this model has a better chance of moving people from acknowledgment to treatment.

Why does it matter?

The UAE has made measurable investments in mental health infrastructure over the past several years, but workplace mental health has lagged behind. Stigma remains a real barrier, and many employees in the region are reluctant to seek help through employer-sponsored channels because they fear professional consequences. Building trusted, structured programmes with clinical credibility behind them is one way to close that gap.

There is also a business case here that Gulf employers are increasingly paying attention to. Poor mental health is directly linked to absenteeism, reduced productivity, and staff turnover. In a region competing aggressively for skilled professionals, that is a cost organisations can no longer afford to ignore.

The context

This agreement fits within a broader pattern of healthcare privatisation and partnership that defines PureHealth's growth strategy in the UAE. SEHA's integration into the PureHealth group has brought more commercial discipline to what were traditionally public health assets, and SAKINA is one of the clearest examples of that evolution.

It also aligns with Abu Dhabi's wider ambitions around population health and economic productivity. The emirate's long-term development frameworks consistently link workforce wellbeing to economic performance. So while this MoU may look like a routine corporate announcement, it reflects something more substantive: a growing consensus that mental health support is infrastructure, not a benefit.