As you develop human capital, so shall you reap. This one powerful message that leaps out of the UAE’s growth model. And a corollary to this message is, in a span of four decades, the country has become one of wealthiest nations in the world, with a good statistical record of rapid growth and equally good social indicators.
On its 44th anniversary, the UAE certainly has much to celebrate — it is the most prosperous country in the Middle East and North Africa and 30th in the world, according to London-based think tank The Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index 2015.
The country continues to emphasise the importance of education, health care and development. At the recent announcement of the Cabinet approving the federal budget for next year, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said, “Our priorities in the 2016 budget will be geared towards social development, education and health,” according to national news agency WAM.
More than 50 per cent of the Dh48.56-billion Federal budget is allocated to these fields. This focus on developing a knowledge-based economy has benefitted the country well, with its education sector advancing to 36th globally, according to The Legatum Institute. Similarly, health improved to 34th from 37th.
Last year, the Human Development Report noted the remarkable progress the UAE has made in health, education and gross national income, ranking it 40th in the world.
“This great development has placed the UAE among the category of countries with very high human development,” said Sayed Aga, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP resident representative. Since the 1980s, the country has made a 30 per cent gain in the Human Development Index.
Established on principles of innovation, creativity, knowledge and a constant need for progress, the UAE has implemented high-quality education standards, creating an academic environment on par with developed nations. It has been a gainful journey since UAE University was established in 1976, followed by the Higher Colleges of Technology, Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies, Zayed University, Gulf Medical University, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, and the formation of the UAE Space Agency, with ambitious plans for the first Arab unmanned probe mission to Mars.
Educational development
According to a recent report by Alpen Capital, the UAE is the most developed education market in the region. With the sector in the GCC expected to witness investments worth Dh550.5 billion over the next couple of years, education has grown significantly to become a major contributor towards the UAE’s diversifying economy, adding more than 20 per cent towards GDP, according to the report.
“The sector is gaining additional momentum from the government, which is acknowledging the need for an education system capable of producing industry-ready graduates,” explains Sameena Ahmad, Managing Director of Alpen Capital, which operates across the GCC and South Asia. “Thus, with increased focus on improving the quality and reach of education, the sector presents an interesting investment opportunity.”
The result has been an increasing number of private schools and colleges in the country.
A new data from ISC Research says the UAE, trailing China, has seen rapid growth in the international schools market. There are currently more than 100 private education providers in the higher education sector and a total of 433 international schools. In the next two years, 30,000 new school places are expected in Dubai alone.
Due to its promising growth prospects — ranked second globally in attracting and receiving foreign investments, according to the World Economic Forum’s World Competitiveness Report — the country has attracted foreign education players, bringing new innovations to the teaching methods. Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, recently said large-scale projects are under way to transform education into smart education based on creativity and innovation.
After the American University in Dubai opened its doors in 1995, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have become centres for more than 50 international universities, including New York University, Sorbonne University, Michigan State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York Institute of Technology, INSEAD, University of Wollongong, Hult International Business School and S.P. Jain School of Global Management — the youngest business school in the Economist Top 100 rankings from Dubai.
According to Unesco, Dubai is the third most popular destination among students from the Middle East, after France and the US.
Health turnaround
In 2009, after a UN study found abnormally high rates of stunted growth among children in the UAE, the government has made strenuous efforts to address the issue as part of its national food security and human development strategy. Though malnutrition has not disappeared, the country has reduced infant mortality faster than any other society over the past two decades, witnessing a reduction to 5 per 1,000 live births last year from 14 in 1990. Babies are the most vulnerable members of any society. When they live instead of dying, they reflect an improving social ecosystem that keeps them alive.
With health-care spending also rising, the health-care market continues to grow due to increasing lifestyle diseases, growing medical tourism in the region and demands for quality services. The Ministry of Health also launched the Hospitals and Health Clinics Assessment Programme in September to improve the level of health-care services.
Collaboration fosters growth
Meanwhile, according to the recent report UAE Healthcare Sector Outlook 2020, numerous collaborations, strategic tie-ups between health-care stakeholders, public and private entities are emerging to develop the sector.
The medical tourism sector is also burgeoning. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) plans to attract 500,000 visitors to combine holidays with health care. Expected to add Dh2.6 billion to the economy by 2020, it will rival emerging medical tourism markets such as India and Thailand.
The emirate has attracted 260,000 medical tourists in the first half of 2015 — up 12 per cent over the same period last year. Around 1.2 million people visited Dubai Healthcare City last year.
The establishment of Abu Dhabi Cleveland Clinic is considered a milestone in the UAE’s health-care development, while Al Qasimi Hospital and the cancer specialists at Al Ain’s Al Tawam Hospital have been pioneers in building expertise in this field.
Furthermore, the emirate will up the ante when Burjeel Hospital opens in Al Ain. It is described as a “premier 7-star health-care facility, set to become a medical hub providing world-class, highly specialised medical treatment and services for communities across Al Ain”.
Yet there are challenges as the UAE seeks to capture a share of an industry worth more than $30 billion (Dh110 billion). “For skilled health-care professionals, the government has put together a strategy to build its local capacity over the coming years,” says Laila Al Jassmi, former CEO of Health Policy and Strategy at DHA, who had led efforts to transform Dubai’s health-care sector. She is CEO and Founder of health-care consultancy, Health Beyond Borders.
“Other challenges will be related to the new investments in technology and data management as well as e-health services and health information technologies.”
Even as the UAE continues to develop internally, it’s also assisting other parts of the world.
The recently launched Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives foundation consolidates the work of 28 organisations focusing on fighting poverty and illness; spreading knowledge and culture; empowering the community; and driving innovation. It will be involved in 1,400 human development programmes in more than 116 countries around the world, yet has a focus on the Arab region.
The big picture
The UAE Cabinet recently approved a trimmed federal budget of Dh48.5 billion for 2016. More than 50 per cent of the budget has been allocated to sectors such as education, social development, public services and health.
Education received the maximum allocation of 21.2 per cent of the federal budget, while social development, public services and health were allocated 15.4 per cent, 11.1 per cent and 7.9 per cent respectively.
In comparison, the US spends almost 19 per cent of its GDP on health care — two percentage points more than Canada, the next highest spender.
