Mohammed G A Al Maadheed () is a Qatari physician, retired general and writer. He is widely regarded as a pioneering figure in the development of the sports medicine field in Qatar. He has been involved in sports medicine projects in the country since 1991.
He has been vice president of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IFRC) since 2009 and vice president of Qatar Red Crescent Society since 2005. He is also a member of the Medical Committee of FIFA, joining in 2010.
Profile Mohammed G.A. Al Maadheed is a leading thinker and practitioner in healthcare and sports medicine in the state of Qatar, and is the healthcare advisor to Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the personal representative of the Emir.
Over the last two decades, Al Maadheed has held and undertaken key leadership roles in Qatar's Healthcare. He serves as the vice chairperson, Supreme Council of Health and chairperson, executive committee, Supreme Council of Health (since 2014). He was appointed as the chairperson of the ‘Executive Group for a Healthy Population’ (2009-2010), which was tasked with the development of the Qatar National Health Strategy 2011–2016. He was vice chairperson of the executive committee of the Supreme Council of Health and a board member (2009-2014). Earlier to this, he was caretaker CEO of the National Health Authority, board member of the National Health Authority (2005-2008), and board member of Hamad Medical Corporation (1997-2006).
Education Al Maadheed attained his medical degree (MD) from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (1987), a Masters in Epidemiology and Health Planning (1992) and a Ph.D. in Strategic Management in Healthcare (1996) from University of Wales, in Wales.
Professional history
The following tables show the professional history:
InstitutionDetail of Postioion heldDatesFIFA Medical CommitteeMember2010 - 2017ASPETAR (Qatar Orthopedics and Sport Medicine Hospital, Qatar)
recognized as Center of Excellence by FIFA (Feb 2009),
IOC centre of Excellence for researchDirector general (Established) & chairman ASPETAR scientific advisory2005 - 2012Asian Football Confederation (AFC)Deputy chairman, AFC Medical committee2011 - 2015Asian Football Confederation (AFC)Member, AFC Ad-Hoc Medical committee2009 - 2011Qatar Anti-Doping Lab Project Qatar General Director2008 - 2011Qatar Military hospital Project, QatarGeneral Director2008 - 2011Medical Committee, Olympic Council of AsiaBoard Member2002 - 2008Qatar National Anti-Doping CommissionFounder & Chairperson2005 - 2008Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (Gulf & Yemen)Founder2005Medical Commission, Olympic Council of Asia: Aomori Asian Winter Games, Japan Busan Asian Games,
South KoreaCommittee Member2000 - 2006Prepared the Asian Games (2006) Medical File for the Qatar BidLeader2000Scientific Commission, Asian Federation of Sport MedicineMember1996 - 1999GCC Sport Medicine CommitteeChairperson1995 - 1999Sport Medicine Center, Qatar Olympic CommitteeFounder & Managing Director1992 - 1999 +InstitutionDetail of Postioion heldDatesSupreme Conuncil of HealthChairperson - Executive Committee2014 - 2016Supreme Conuncil of HealthVice Chaiperson2009 - 2014Trauma Mass Casualty Hospital ProjectDirector General2012 - 2015RASADChairman, International Advisory Board for Epidemiological Studies, RASAD2012 - 2013Naufar (Qatar addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Center)Project Director2011 - 2017Supreme Conuncil of HealthBoard member2009 - 2014Supreme Conuncil of HealthChairperson - Executive Group for a healthy population (Tasked with the development of Qatar national health strategy
2011–2016)2009 - 2010Qatar Red Crescent Societypresident2011 - 2020International Federation of Red Cross and Red CrescentChairperson – Board Priorities Oversight Group2012 – 2013International Federation of Red Cross and Red CrescentVice President (Elected)2009 - 2013Qatar Red Crescent SocietyVice President2008 – 2011Human Rights Commission – QatarBoard Member2007 – 2011National Health Authority, QatarBoard Member2005 - 2008National Health Authority (Ministry of Health), QatarCaretaker CEO2005 - 2006Medical Committee, International Islamic University, UgandaHonorary Member2007IFRC Constitution Review CommitteeMember2006 - 2007Seville AgreementWorking Group Member1997Qatar Red Crescent SocietySecretary General2000 - 2008Hamad Medical Corporation, QatarBoard Member1997 - 2006Qatar Armed Forces Medical UnitHead, Surgical Section1992 - 1999Qatar Armed Forces Medical UnitAssistant Commander1992 - 1995Ministerial Committee: Evaluation and Assessment of Hamad Medical CorporationMember1990 +InstitutionDetail of Position heldDatesUniversity College London (UCL) School of Life and Medical SciencesVisiting Professor2017 - 2020Qatar International Development FundBoard Member2010 - ongoingQatar Fund for Social, Humanitarian & Sport DevelopmentBoard Member2010 - 2016Publication Series: Towards Humanitarian EducationHead, Editorial Team2004 - 2008Supreme Council of EnvironmentBoard Member2000 - 2004Research committee for Centre of Futuristic Studies, QatarChairman1997 - 2000
Career Al Maadheed is an international thought leader in Sports Medicine and anti-doping fields. He established the first National Sports Medicine Centre in Qatar in 1992. He was instrumental in transforming the Vision for a comprehensive Sports Medicine facility into a new state-of-the-art and purpose-built Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital as Director General of Aspetar (2003-2012). Aspetar attained international recognition when it was accredited as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence in 2009 and expanded its reach nationally into the Clubs and Federations of Qatar through the innovative National Sports Medicine Programme. Al Maadheed was also chairman of the Aspire Zone Research Committee.
Al Maadheed established and chaired the Qatar National Anti-doping Commission (2005-2008). He was the director general and project director of the Anti-doping Lab Qatar which was inaugurated in December 2012, and continues to provide stewardship as the chairman of the Board of Trustees and has been accredited by WADA in August 2015.
In the international sports medicine scene, he is a member on the FIFA Medical Committee (since 2009) and served as deputy chairman for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Medical Committee (2011 - 2015).
Al Maadheed is also the director general and project director of a new ‘greenfield’ state-of-the-art medical facility for addiction treatment and rehabilitation in Qatar (since 2010).
Al Maadheed was tasked to lead the Trauma and Mass Casualty Hospital Project and he served as the Director General of this project (2012-2015).
Al Maadheed served as the Chairman of the International Advisory Board for Epidemiological Studies for RASAD. Al Maadheed established RASAD as a commercial entity with contracts signed with Rome City Council, FASI and Harmoni. RASAD has been recognized as the first ‘Made-in-Qatar’ technology solution in domain outside of energy to be successfully commercialized internationally.
Humanitarian work Al Maadheed is active in the humanitarian fields and social missions. He is now President of the Qatar Red Crescent (QRC), and started his journey as its Secretary General (2000-2008). The QRC is an organisation providing relief to over 40 countries. He was elected and served as the vice-president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent for Asia (2009-2013). He was the Chair of the ‘Board Priorities Oversight Group’ for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (2012-2013). He was board member of the Human Rights Commission of Qatar (2007-2011). He is also board member for Qatar International Development Fund and Qatar Fund for Social, Humanitarian & Sport Development and is on the World Economic for Middle East (since 2011).
Al Maadheed speaks frequently internationally on different humanitarian issues and has been honoured by numerous organisations worldwide. He has also authored multiple articles and papers and has written and published on the subject of human dignity and other humanitarian issues.
Prizes, awards and other honours The following tables show the Prizes, Awards and other Honours: +AwardAwarding bodyYearKeys of the CityGorée Island, Dakar, Senegal2020Honorary CitizenshipChinguetti, Mauritania2019Swiss Business Community AwardDoha, Qatar2018The WISH Oxford Series Healthcare in Conflict Zones: Delivering effective SolutionsHarris Manchester College, University of Oxford, UK2018Person of the Year 2017 Field of International PeaceQatar Youth Hostels2017Presidential Medal for Social ResponsibilitySudan20161st AFC Medical AwardAsian Football Confederation2015Honorary Passport, Corporate Social Responsibility, International Ambassador United Nations2014Medal of HonorAlgerian Red Crescent Society2012Personality of the year for contribution to Sports MedicineQatar Olympic Committee2010Medal of HonorVenezuelan Red Cross Society2009Medal of HonorItalian Red Cross Society2007Recognition for Contribution to Healthcare of Gulf CountriesGulf Cooperation Council2004
Projects and grants Centre of Metabolism & Inflammation (CoMI)
Appointed as Director of the centre Feb 2020, which is part of the Research Department of Inflammation, Division of Medicine, UCL. Involved in the conception, planning, obtaining funding, staffing and supervision of two major programmes of research within the centre.
1) Investigation of non-communicable diseases in low/middle income communities.
South Asians (individuals from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka), who represent a quarter of the world's population, along with Arabs and Africans, account for 60% of the world's heart disease patients. This includes cardiomyopathies and aggressive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This is an area of intense current public scrutiny, especially in relation to low/ middle income blue collar workers who are residents in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), where there are significant opportunities for employment, particularly from the surrounding countries of the Indian sub-continent, due to their immense infrastructure building projects. Data suggests that the prevalence of NCDs is high in these workers, but perhaps comparable to that seen amongst the host (Qatari) population and to the workers’ countries of origin (e.g. India, Nepal, Bangladesh). Young people from these ethnicities, especially men, with moderate-to-severe structural heart abnormalities are found to be asymptomatic and have no clinical signs, with the first indication often being sudden cardiac death. A screening programme including extensive clinical information, including ECG, and multi-omics data, is likely to predict subjects with ‘silent’ underlying heart disease. Timely disqualification from strenuous occupations and moderate behavioral changes could be life-saving, especially on building sites in Qatar.
Study 1. Set-up, obtained funding (QRCS internal grant £150,000), supervised and completed a pilot study of 58,270 blue collar, male workers from low/middle income communities, resident in Qatar, looking at the association between their length of stay with the diagnosis of NCDs, using a descriptive, retrospective model, including basic demographics. Eighty-three percent of the population were between the ages of 25 – 55 years and predominantly from the Indian sub-continent, accounting for 90%. The majority (84.5%) of this population had also been resident in Qatar for 3 or more years, with greater than 96% of the studied population having been resident in Qatar for more than 12 months. The top reasons for visits to the clinic were due to hypertension, dyslipidaemia and/or diabetes, and associated with multiple visits to the clinic, requiring chronic treatment and monitoring.