The UAE leads the world in 9 competitive indicators related to the progress in achieving the third Sustainable Development Goal "Good Health and Well-Being," according to monitoring conducted by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center for the Emirates News Agency (WAM). According to the center, the UAE topped the world in the following indicators: sex ratio at birth, the percentage of live infants who received two recommended vaccines from the World Health Organization, coverage of prenatal care, absence of mortality and injury from natural disasters, immunization against infectious diphtheria, existence of medical programs for early detection, extent of health care coverage, percentage of children vaccinated against hepatitis, and immunization against measles.
The center stated that the country achieved these rankings based on reports from major international references, including the Global Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum, the Sustainable Development Goals Index published by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the Prosperity Index report issued by the Legatum Institute.
In the same context, the UAE ranked second worldwide in 3 indicators, namely the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births in the Sustainable Development Goals report issued by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the prevalence of health issues in the Prosperity Index report by the Legatum Institute, and the reduction of maternal mortality rates in the Gender Inequality Index report by the United Nations Development Programme.
Additionally, the UAE came in third globally in the indicator of births supervised by specialized health personnel and the tuberculosis incidence rate per 100,000, as mentioned in the Sustainable Development Goals report by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, as well as achieving third place in reproductive health within the Global Open Data Index.
The UAE ranks fourth globally in the indicator of the prevalence of stunting under five years of age in the Sustainable Development Goals report by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and in the indicator of satisfaction with health care in the Prosperity Index report by the Legatum Institute.
Providing world-class healthcare is one of the six pillars of the UAE's national agenda, and the government continues to make efforts to enhance the well-being and health care of both citizens and residents. The Ministry of Health and Prevention is responsible for monitoring the progress toward achieving the third Sustainable Development Goal "Good Health and Well-Being," and has launched several initiatives aimed at enhancing this progress, such as the "National Policy for Mental Health" initiative, which seeks to establish a multi-sectoral national framework and enhance joint efforts from both the public and private sectors to promote mental health.
