Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has approved Dh11 billion ($3 billion) of social assistance for all low-income groups over the next three years.

He asserted that meeting the needs of the society, particularly social welfare and social services, is essential for the stability of societies and peoples.

Sheikh Mohammed also emphasised that paying attention to citizens’ demands is one of the basic principles of all government strategies and programmes, adding that the coming periods will witness a broad government focus on low-income groups.

 "The priorities of the government were and will always remain our citizens. We reviewed the report of the Ministry of Community Development and asked to conduct field surveys and develop long-term plans and propose urgent solutions for a range of topics," he added.

The assistance will be distributed as follows: Dh3.88 billion in social assistance for the elderly, Dh1.55 billion for those with a financial and health deficit, Dh1.7 billion for "people of determination", and Dh183.9 million for families of prisoners, among other categories, as part of the federal government's social assistance plan.

 The Cabinet reviewed the report of the Ministry of Community Development, which included the needs of citizens with low incomes and identified six main requirements: housing, basic needs, transportation, financial support, healthcare, education and work.

 The Cabinet also discussed ways of monitoring and addressing the social security requirements to cover all segments of low-income groups and directed the relevant ministry to conduct field surveys, to develop long-term plans, and to propose urgent solutions to a range of topics. – TradeArabia News Service