DUBAI, Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, stated that the vision of the UAE leadership focuses on future projects that promote social stability and support wellbeing sustainability of all the members of the community following the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to consider wellbeing as the top priority of the UAE government.
This was announced by Hessa Buhumaid, who chaired the First Wellbeing Council Meeting 2022 held by the National Programme for Happiness and Wellbeing remotely to discuss the most prominent initiatives that promote wellbeing in according to the aspirations of the leadership and the directives of the government. The meeting was attended by members of the Wellbeing Council, under-secretaries of ministries, officials of government authorities and executive councils all over the country.
Hessa Buhumaid, said, “Wellbeing is the supporting foundation, safe and stimulating cornerstone for sustainable development in the UAE due to its importance in our daily and professional lives. I encourage all the members of the Wellbeing Council to select creative initiatives and qualitative ideas that keep pace with the promises and requirements of individuals and the community in social, health, educational, security and economic fields in light of the recovery phase and return to normal life.”
She spoke about the competitive ranking to provide the best Initiatives and achievements in support of the comprehensive development process. For the fourth year in a row, the UAE is leading the MENA region in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2020, which puts it at 9th place among the most competitive countries in the world. The UAE maintained its position among the top ten competitive countries in the world in 2020, to be the only Arab country that succeeded in asserting itself in the competitiveness yearbook.
Minister Buhumaid added that the performance excellence was achieved in four major indicators: third globally in government efficiency, fourth in economic performance, seventh in business efficiency, 28th in infrastructure, there is continuous improvement in several indicators and global leadership in a large number of sub-indicators.
This first meeting reviewed government efforts, highlighted pioneering models and targeted wellbeing initiatives, shared experiences and benefitted from the expertise at both federal and local levels.
Furthermore, Saeed Al Nazari, Director-General of the Federal Youth Authority, emphasised that they studied the privileges provided to young Emiratis and residents to enhance their wellbeing such as the launch of a report which monitors the privileges of youth and a survey to monitor the opinion of young residents about their wellbeing, and short videos documenting the privileges of youth in various languages.
Al Nazari noted that the youth are privileged to have free education, health insurance and free healthcare services, housing allowance, marriage grants, services provided by youth centres, membership in the boards of directors of federal institutions, and travelling to more than 118 countries without a prior visa.
During the meeting, Dr. Aisha Al Muheiri, Director of Wellbeing Office at the Ministry of Health and Prevention, spoke about the Health Wellbeing Strategy Plan 2026 based on the National Wellbeing Strategy 2031, health programmes, initiatives and projects related to physical, mental or social health.
Dr. Heba Shehadeh, Leader of Foresight time in Dubai Future Foundation, delivered a speech about the future opportunities as a source of thought and inspiration to determine the prospects for growth, prosperity and happiness in different sectors over the next 50 years.
Members of the Wellbeing Council discussed the updates of the “National Wellbeing Survey 2022” under the theme “Knowledge for Prosperity” which includes six themes: wellbeing of individuals, connected community, advanced country, cities and residential communities, sustainability, culture and arts.
The meeting also discussed the idea of hosting “Wellbeing International Dialogue” to learn about inspiring experiences in the field of wellbeing that serve human beings and affect the future, strengthen global partnerships, share pioneering experiences, review the world’s achievements in Expo 2020 Dubai, and highlight the UAE advanced role in wellbeing.
Source: Emirates News Agency