Bahrain ‘leading way in UN growth goals’

Ms Sabt presented the information during a meeting organised by the Premier’s Court on Bahrain’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030 at Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research, Muharraq.

A lecture on ‘Achieving Sustainable Development in the Middle East … Challenges and Opportunities’ was given by one of the world’s leading experts on economic development and the fight against poverty Professor Jeffrey Sachs.

UAE, KSA, Kuwait to Enhance Bahrain Fiscal Stability

The Ministers of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Kuwait…

354 Views | the publication reaches you by | Bahrain News

The American economist, academic, public policy analyst and former director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York is Professor of Sustainable Development at the university’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Life expectancy in Bahrain had increased by 27 years since 1978.

Health Ministry Under-Secretary Dr Waleed Al Manea said at a regional forum on Wednesday that life expectancy in 1978 was 53 years, but it has now risen to 77.5 for men and 80 for women.

Benefits

Yesterday Ms Sabt said literacy in Bahrain was at 97.5 per cent of the population aged 15 and above.

“Around 84pc of the population have sent e-mails with attached files, while 75pc transferred files between computers and other devices,” she explained. “Unemployment has declined to around 4pc in the last 10 years and Bahrain’s economy grew by 1.6pc from the previous year.

“Tamkeen (Labour Fund) has over 330 different initiatives with more than 230,000 Bahraini individuals and businesses benefiting to date.”

She added that 100pc of the population benefits from access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services.

“The household average income increased by 47pc over the past 10 years.

“This is accompanied with 31pc of total government spending going towards essential services.”

Supreme Council for Environment environmental planning director Suzan Ajjawi said Bahrain was committed to achieving environmental goals.

She said that “100pc of the population had access to electricity with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology”.

“A national plan that seeks to include renewable energy with a rate of 5pc of the total energy consumption by 2025 and 10pc by 2035 has been placed in 2018.

Targets

“In 2018, six natural marine reserves were declared and they comprise 21pc of the total marine environment, which exceeds the ‘Aichi Biodiversity Targets’, named after the Japanese prefecture where the protocol was adopted in 2010.

“We are currently updating the national diversity strategy and action plan, which runs from 2016 until next year, as we address biodiversity threats in the environment, particularly marine.”

Ms Ajjawi said continuous studies on environmental challenges were being undertaken.

“We have a fragile environment with limited resources, rapid population growth and challenging lifestyle, climate change and impeding impacts, enabling technology transfer and building national capacity, while we also seek international funding.

“The government adopted in 2018 a National Efficiency Plan that contains 22 initiatives and aims to enhance electricity efficiency by 6pc.

Adaptation

“We are also working on an action plan for climate change adaptation which would be ready by the end of this year.”

In his lecture, Prof Sachs said technology could resolve so many problems and create many others.

“The economic ramifications of technology are high as jobs would go away, but there are practical solutions if, for example, solar energy is turned into green power.

“Bahrain could become a superpower of green energy just from the sun – harnessing solar energy and the electrification of an industry could lead to Bahrain exporting solar power. If Bahrain needs a strategy, I could be your ambassador, as China is interested in such technology.”

Improving Organizational Performance with Fusion Leadership and Business Excellence in Bahrain

Global Experts in Leadership and Business Excellence will lead a powerful discussion focusing on improving organizational performance at…

140 Views | the publication reaches you by | Bahrain News

Related Articles

Dubai-based Eat App targets Saudi, Bahrain expansion...

Cold-snap hits Bahrain. Temperature hits one degree...

Bahrain works to attract more foreign investments...

You can subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter and Google pages or use our RSS feed channel to always read the most important news about Bahrain, the Gulf and the world.