BAHRAIN’S much-praised Covid-19 strategy and welfare measures have been highlighted in a new report released yesterday.
The 2022 edition of the Arab Human Development Report (AHDR), compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), reviews impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on human development across the region as well as actions taken by Arab states to check the outbreak and mitigate its most adverse impacts on people and the economy.
Produced by UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States, the document is titled ‘Expanding Opportunities for an Inclusive and Resilient Recovery in the Post-Covid Era’.
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It’s the seventh in the AHDR series, marking 20 years of keen analysis of development challenges and opportunities across the Arab States since the launch of the seminal report in 2002.
“A study has shown that Bahrain ranked highest for satisfaction with governmental response, followed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait,” said the report.
“The availability of resources was an obvious factor in the efficacy of countries’ response to the pandemic, along with the agility and co-ordination of institutions.
“Most GCC countries were very successful in their vaccination rollout and their speedy economic recovery in late 2021.
“GCC governments succeeded in bringing the outbreak under control in their countries, displaying an average recovery rate that was significantly higher than the global average.
“During the pandemic, limited trust in government institutions was reflected in the pushback containment measures and high rates of vaccine hesitancy – a trend observed across different regions globally.”
According to the report, social protection has been one of the main instruments of governments responding to the pandemic’s shock to households and businesses with social protection programmes expanded, new emergency programmes implemented and funding mobilised to meet increased demand.
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Covid-19 stimulus tracker estimated that the number of social protection measures stood at 174 in the Arab countries – ranging from one in Yemen, two each in Qatar and Yemen and up to 17 in Bahrain, 19 in Lebanon and 23 in Egypt.
“The percentage of people covered by at least one social protection programme increased in Bahrain, Lebanon and Palestine in the Covid-19 period,” said the report.
“The Arab States region has been experiencing various vulnerabilities and is notable for a diverse range of development contexts – but the rapid onset of the global pandemic challenged all to varying degrees, presenting new challenging and exacerbating vulnerabilities,” said UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Bureau of Arab States director Khalida Bouzar.
The report further underscores that the region’s economy contracted by around 4.5 per cent in 2020, with fragile and conflict-affected countries experiencing the largest average drop – around 15pc.
It records notable examples of positive responses to the Covid-19 pandemic across the Arab States region.
The report points to instances where rapid government action mitigated some of the worst development impacts.
This included adopting stimulus and support packages to support domestic economic activity; providing direct relief to enterprises, particularly small and medium ones; and financing measures to protect workers through paid leave, unemployment benefits and cash transfers, especially targeting informal workers.
However, despite positive signs at the end of 2021, the report notes that an accelerated recovery in 2022 is unlikely, given emerging challenges facing the region.
In 2021, unemployment rose to 12.6pc in the Arab States region, more than double the world average of 6.2pc – with female labour force participation rates being among the lowest in the world.
The report further estimates that the pandemic resulted in a 5pc increase in water demand in 2020 for intensified hygiene practices, adding pressures on already scarce water supplies across the region, where 18 of the 22 Arab States face serious levels of water scarcity.
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