The Ministry of Health has recently announced a proposal to double the number of hospital beds to 60,000 throughout the Kingdom.
The proposal will receive greater attention in the forthcoming Saudi Health exhibition scheduled to take place from May 12-14. The exhibition, which is being held under the patronage of the Ministry of Health at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, promises to be a great platform for key industry players to focus on the leading trends and developments within the Saudi health care industry.
The Kingdom continues to draw global attention as the Middle East’s largest health care market and the most aggressive in terms of health care expenditure, according to Kamil Al Jawhari, the project manager of Saudi Health at Riyadh Exhibitions Company, organizers of the upcoming exhibition.
“What is particularly attractive about the Kingdom’s health care system, from an investor’s point of view, is that although it is large, the industry is quite mature,” he said, pointing out that with the aging yet affluent population, there is an unprecedented opportunity for investors to benefit from the new developments in the industry.
Al Jawhari further elaborated that the exhibition provides an important opportunity to learn and gain better access to the best health care products, services and technologies from around the world.
“The exhibition, which is the largest international health care event in the Kingdom, will provide an exceptional combination of networking and corporate branding opportunities. It is also the perfect platform for health care companies to boost their profile among influential decision-makers in the health care industry,” Al Jawhari said.
Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions, organizers of the world’s second largest health care exhibition, and Riyadh Exhibitions Company (REC), organizers of ‘Saudi Medicare Exhibition’, for the last 15 years, have partnered to launch the new Saudi Health expo.
Demand for hospital beds in the Kingdom is expected to increase from 30,000 to 60,000 by 2016, catering to the rapidly growing population, which now accounts for more than two-thirds of the entire GCC populace. Underlining its commitment to address evolving health care issues in the country, the government has remained the largest spender on health care in the GCC, with its health care market projected to be worth more than USD 20 billion by 2014.
Over the coming years, Saudi Arabia is set to experience a sharp increase in its health care needs, owing to the anticipated 20 percent increase in its population rate from 23 to 30 million by 2016.
The Saudi government funds most of the demand for health care capital and operating expenditures, while private sector spending accounts for 25 percent of the total.
The Ministry of Health has developed a plan to restructure its activities in order to reduce its role as the primary payer of first resort and at the same time boost its capabilities as a regulator of private health care services.
This year, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah announced a record surplus budget of SR 9 billion for 2013, projecting expenditure at SR 820 billion and revenues at SR 829.
The budget allocated SR 285 billion for new projects, SR 204 billion for education, SR 100 billion for health, SR 65 for transport and SR 57 billion for water, industry and agriculture.
The budget carried a package of pledges for the health care sector, including more primary health care centers (PHCs), new hospitals and facilities.
