Issue 4 – February 2022 – Editorial

A publication of the METO University Network

by Britt Gronemeyer *

Environmental progress has defined this last month in good news from the Middle East. Countries across the Middle East and North Africa have been making efforts towards combating climate change and investing in renewable energy, specifically the UAE and Saudi Arabia. As per usual, we are delighted to welcome you back to the fourth issue of The Bright Side as we delve into some positive news about developments in MENA.

Measures to improve environmentalism have been prolific in numerous countries across MENA. The UAE is promising to cut carbon emissions 30% by 2030 while also reporting the significant reduction in carbon emissions over the last 3 years. Egypt is also making big promises and setting high expectations with the release of financing agreements with various development partners globally signed for electricity, renewable energy, and petroleum, totalling 1.04 billion dollars. This is a reflection of Egypt’s transition to a green economy which has been a growing focus for them over the past few months. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is making promises to attempt to limit climate change at this month’s International Conference on Global Warming, Climate Change and Pollution in Rome.

Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have agreed to a deal improving renewable energy through the exchange of policies, legislation, and research, reflecting the growing importance of renewable energy in the fight against climate change.

Healthcare in the MENA region has been focused on technological developments in order to improve systems such as the UAE’s deal with Amazon Web Services in order to create a cloud-based electronic medical record system, increasing efficiency and accuracy. Last month, Egypt’s Health Ministry developed an electronic healthcare platform for people with special needs in another example of their increasing use of technology in order to improve their healthcare systems.

Furthermore, the Middle East has seen an increase in cooperation between different states for the benefit of their healthcare systems. Egypt’s Acting Health Minister, Khaled Abdel Ghafar. began conversations with the Swedish ambassador in order to improve health cooperation between the two nations. This cooperation would potentially cover pharmaceutical production as well as Swedish accommodation of the needs of the African healthcare market.

These developments are all coinciding with the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccination rollout within various nations in the MENA region. The head of the World Health Organisation Africa declared that Africa is transitioning out of a phase of Covid-19 crisis and their ability to work with and manage the virus has improved significantly over the last two years.

That wraps up the major developments for this issue of The Bright Side. We look forward to bringing some more good news to you next month!

* Britt Gronemeyer is a second year student at the University of St Andrews. She is working towards a joint degree in Modern History and Middle Eastern Studies. Within METO, she focuses on healthcare improvements in the MENA region. She also writes for her school’s Law Review, focusing on International Law and Freedom of the Press.

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Disclaimer

The articles selected for publication in this bulletin have been specially chosen in order to highlight the good work done every day across the region in order to improve the quality of life for citizens. It also highlights the advances in culture and the new archaelogical discoveries in the region, underlining that this region really has been a cradle of civilization for millenia.

The views expressed in the linked articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Treaty Organization and their inclusion in our bulletin should not be interpreted in any way other than we think they’re interesting stories that should be more widely known. We will never intentionally include articles that promote or condone violence and discrimination in any form.

For any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact TheBrightSide@wmd-free.me.

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