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Al Etihad
a day ago
- Health
- Al Etihad
UAE scores high on Social Progress Index with top marks in housing, healthcare
20 June 2025 02:32 KHALED AL KHAWALDEH (ABU DHABI) The UAE has once again demonstrated its commitment to social development as it secured impressive scores on the recently released Social Progress Index (SPI) Global Report 2025. It stood out in several categories including housing and healthcare. With an overall score of 74.04 out of 100, the UAE ranked second in the Arab world, and 49th out of 170 nations across the globe. This marks a significant improvement for the country, which has climbed seven places since 2011. The annual index measures how well countries meet the social and environmental needs of their people, beyond just economic factors like GDP. It assesses nations across three key areas: basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing, and opportunity, covering indicators such as health, education, safety, rights, and environmental UAE achieved top-tier performances in housing and healthcare, scoring 96.35 in housing, securing some of the highest global marks in this category. It boasted 100% access to electricity, universal use of clean fuels and technology for cooking, and zero household air pollution, factors SPI said were critical indicators of quality living standards. The UAE also ranked an impressive 7th globally for the affordability of housing, underscoring its efforts to ensure residents can access safe and affordable the country scored highly in water and sanitation, achieving an overall score of 96.54 and placing 12th globally. The country was found to deliver 100% of its population with basic water service and excelled in providing basic sanitation services. Healthcare was another bright spot where the UAE attained a score of 73.32, with notable strengths in areas such as equal access to essential health services and low prevalence of non-communicable diseases. The country's life expectancy at 65 and its ranking of 14th for equal access to quality healthcare signalled a well-developed healthcare system that serves both nationals and residents housing and healthcare, the UAE performed well in other pillars of social progress. It ranked 14th globally in basic education, with high primary school enrolment and high scores in gender parity in secondary attainment. Its information and communications infrastructure were graded as robust, with full marks for internet users and mobile telephone users, while access to online governance services ranked 37th worldwide. On the safety front, the UAE recorded a score of 78.22, with relatively low levels of interpersonal violence and good perceptions of personal safety, indicated by its 7th rank globally for feelings of safety when walking alone.
Irish Examiner
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Ibec: Infrastructure investment needs to be prioritised ahead of all other expenditure
Business group Ibec is calling on the Government to prioritise spending on infrastructure, to the tune of €200bn over the next 10 years, ahead of all other forms of expenditure including tax cuts. In a new policy paper, Ibec said infrastructure investment needs to be prioritised in order to address persistent challenges in delivering critical national infrastructure. It said while infrastructure spending has increased 'significantly in recent years' it will need to 'continue to increase to maintain the volume of projects in real terms'. The paper noted that nominal infrastructure spending will need to rise from €19.6bn a year by 2030, under the current plan, to over €24bn by 2035. The policy papers suggest a sustained investment of €200bn over the next 10 years. Ibec said infrastructure investment targets need to be embedded in fiscal rules. It said these targets should be backed by Exchequer funds, proceeds from the Apple tax ruling from last year as well as the various investment funds the Government have been putting money into. In order to facilitate this spending, the business group is also calling for a reform of the planning and legal system to better deliver infrastructure investment. It added that the Government should establish an expert review group to examine systemic reform, 'up to and including constitutional change'. 'There must be a radical improvement in the delivery of nationally important projects. Delays persist in many key projects, with only 11 of 44 pipeline initiatives delivered on or ahead of schedule,' Ibec said. 'Improved delivery can be achieved by cutting decision-making timelines, enhancing planning capacity, prioritising key projects, and ensuring early and meaningful public input.' Within the Government, Ibec is calling for a centralised body with statutory powers to streamline approvals and prioritise strategically significant projects as well as the establishment of a permanent forum with private infrastructure investors to address regulatory challenges, ensure project viability, and attract future capital. It added that strategic infrastructure must be prioritised within the planning system, with immediate Ministerial Directions issued to expedite underpinning projects. Fergal O'Brien, executive director of lobbying and influence at Ibec, said the country must not make the mistake of 'deprioritising public investment' when the economy slows. 'Ireland's population is projected to grow by nearly a million people by 2035 and the global economic uncertainty only strengthens the case for strategic domestic investment—with infrastructure at the core,' he said. 'We can't continue with the status quo and just hope for improved outcomes. We need to fundamentally rebalance the system to put the common good first,' he said. Ibec added that regional delivery must be a national priority and that all Irish regions should aim to rank in the top 10% of EU regions in the Social Progress Index by delivering region-specific infrastructure. 'Ibec's priorities reflect detailed business input on the challenges delivering the projects needed to sustain local economic growth across the country,' the group said.
Hindustan Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Hooda expresses concern over missing people in Haryana
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday expressed concern over an increase in the number of people going missing. In a statement, the Congress leader maintained that more than 45 people are missing from the state every day. 'These are only cases registered in police stations. In fact, there are many whose reports have not been registered,' he claimed. Hooda said if one looked at the figures from January to March this, 4,100 people have gone missing from the state and more than 1,000 people have been kidnapped. 'That means about 12 people are kidnapped every day in the state. This is a worrying situation. The data exposes the bad law and order situation of the state, and the possibility of human trafficking cannot be ruled out,' he said. 'It has often been seen that women and children who are victims of kidnapping also fall prey to criminal activities like bonded labour, sexual exploitation and illegal trade of human organs,' the Hooda said. Hooda said Haryana was declared the most unsafe state in the country in the Social Progress Index released by the central government itself. 'The NCRB figures released by the central government also confirmed that Haryana ranked high in crime. Now the State Human Rights Commission has also issued a notice to Haryana police in this matter and sought a report within eight weeks,' he said.
