Health & Life Sciences
From The Report: Saudi Arabia 2019
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Saudi Arabia’s health sector is currently facing a combination of demand-led growth and major structural change as the government seeks to privatise hospitals and other medical service providers. The interplay of these two forces is likely to have an influence on the sector in the coming years. Since 2016 two primary strategy documents have been guiding health care policies: the National Transformation Programme, which runs until 2020, and the Vision 2030 development blueprint. The former calls for increased private sector participation in the health sector, while the latter is an overall strategic plan for the country that highlights the need to modernise and diversify the economy. This chapter contains an interview with Hisham bin Saad Aljadhey, CEO, Saudi Food and Drug Authority.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Good prognosis: Public and private expenditure continues to rise in response to increasing demand for medical services and specialist care
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Saudi Arabia’s health sector currently faces a combination of demand-led growth and major structural change as the government seeks to privatise hospitals and other medical service providers. The interplay of these two forces is likely to influence the sector in the coming years. Structure & Oversight The national health care service is owned and operated by the government through the Ministry of Health (MoH) and other government and semi-public entities. Altogether heath and education spending…

Interview

Upping the quality: Hisham bin Saad Aljadhey, CEO, Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), on localisation of food and drug capabilities, and capacities in the Kingdom
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Interview :Hisham bin Saad Aljadhey In which segments can food manufacturing be localised in the context of halal production? HISHAM BIN SAAD ALJADHEY: A good example of supply chain localisation is the production of dairy products. Despite the country’s lack of water resources, there have been major successes in that sub-sector; from reaching self-sufficiency to becoming an exporter to neighbouring countries. There remain are a lot of other opportunities, especially for fish products.…

Analysis

Attractive market: The government prepares for a major privatisation plan, with significant interest from local and foreign providers
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In February 2018 the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced plans to establish a holding company and five regional subsidiaries to enable privatisation of the sector. Under the plan, the MoH would transition to becoming a regulator rather than a direct provider of health services. The aim of the restructuring was initially to have 15 hospitals and 100 primary health care centres operating in a competitive market. Once the new structure is in place, this would position the government to transfer ownership…