UPEACE commends Saudi’s health, social performance
The University for Peace (UPEACE) – an intergovernmental organization with university status, established by treaty at the United Nations General Assembly in 1980 – has commended Saudi Arabia’s performance in the area of health and social services.
This was contained in a recent study on the national and international measures to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.
According to the study, Saudi Arabia has continued to implement reforms and enhance security, peace, and human rights despite the pandemic, while it ranked 26th globally in providing high-quality health care.
The study stated that the Kingdom’s reforms in the field of human rights did not stop despite the outbreak of Covid-19, with particular attention to women’s rights.
It also revealed the most important national, regional, and international efforts to curb the effects of the pandemic, pointing to the health services provided by the Kingdom and its commitment to offer support worth USD 500 million to international organizations for their global efforts to combat Covid-19.
With regard to the right to health, the study highlighted the precautionary measures taken by Saudi Arabia, such as suspending office attendance, temporarily halting travel to and from the Kingdom, and preventing gatherings.
Moreover, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has earmarked to the private sector an amount of USD 13 billion dollars in order to enhance economic growth, while the state covered 60 percent of the salaries of employees in the private sector.
Khaled Al-Fakheri, a specialist in law and human rights, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Kingdom topped the global scene during the coronavirus crisis. He noted that the sanitary crisis was a true indicator of how countries deal with their citizens and respect them.
He added that Saudi Arabia has offered a lesson in humanity in terms of guaranteeing the treatment of the infected persons and working to protect the citizens, in addition to supporting institutions despite the high costs incurred by the outbreak of the virus.
