Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed has revealed that he will fund the treatment of a 19-month-old Iraqi girl with a rare genetic condition.

Laveen Jabbar Al Kutyashi will receive what is believed to be the world’s most expensive gene therapy treatment after being diagnosed with Stage II Spinal Muscular Dystrophy.

The genetic condition delays motor development and is classed as a motor neurone disease. However, the treatment worth AED 8 million (GBP 1.55 million) will stop her condition from progressively deteriorating.

Laveen will be treated at the Al Jalila Children’s Speciality Hospital in Dubai after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 71, saw a video uploaded by the girl’s mother Masar Mondal to social media in which she appealed for help.

The hospital is the only medical centre in the wider region to offer the gene therapy Laveen needs.

Despite its high cost, the treatment, which was only approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration three years ago, consists of a single injection.

However, Laveen, who was diagnosed in October 2019, will have to be monitored by medics and undergo a rehabilitation programme in addition to getting the jab.

Hospital doctor Mohammad Al Awadhi told local media: “The prognosis for her is very good.”

Laveen’s dad, Ibrahim Jabbar Mohammad, said: “My daughter has a new lease of life thanks to the generosity of Sheikh Mohammed.”

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