Dr Jumaa was born In Dubai in the year 1942. He spent his early childhood in Dubai where he received his primary education at the AI Ahmadia School. This period coincided with the July Arab revolution, which kindled dormant nationalistic and independence feelings. These events had a major impact on Dr Jumaa and affected his choice of a future career. He moved to Qatar to attend pre-secondary school, and then to Kuwait where he completed his secondary school. He crowned his educational achievements in 1969 when he graduated from the Medical College of Cairo University, and it was here where he developed his educational and nationalistic make-up.
He opted to study medicine because of the excellent grades he obtained in biology and his interest in biological sciences, although that came at the expense of an engineering degree, which he had originally selected for a career. After graduating, he joined the AI-Maktoum Hospital and became the first national physician at the hospital.
After he gained only a few years' experience, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Health in the newly formed Government of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. He served in this capacity until 1973. This was a big challenge, carrying with it immense responsibilities, but he took it on and proved very much up to it, judging from the successes he achieved at the helm of the organisation.
In 1974 he was appointed Director General of the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS), a post he retained for 2 decades (1974-1994). This period was the golden age and proved to be the most fruitful in the development of DOHMS and represents all the various stages, those of the establishment, development and maturation, which the department witnessed. At the same time it showcased Dr Jumaa's administrative discipline, careful planning and emphasis on performance. His bio-data reflects that of the department -both are inter-twined and interconnected, and complemented each other.
Medical services in Dubai emanated from the hospitals, which offered essential services to the inhabitants, as was the case in other countries in the region. But Dr Jumaa believed in delivering health services to the public from centres in residential areas, and consequently he implemented a programme of providing primary health care services to the public. In a few years he had built-up 18 health centres in Dubai to ensure that medical services were provided to all residents close to where they lived. This saved time and much effort, resulting in a significant Improvement of services, and at the same time relieving the hospitals to enable them to better manage their resources in developing more completely their role In the provision of healthcare to those in need.
