The Ministry of Health has called for an increase of 10 percent in its annual budget to meet the needs of citizens, specifically services related to self-employment, medicines, medical supplies and devices, as well as non-medical operations, maintenance and cleanliness.

According to the ministry, the increased funds will be used to implement pending projects and to expand medical purchases to meet the needs of citizens. The ministry said new programs include evaluating the measures and overall quality of the self-employment program and patient safety programs, as well as an electronic health file platform linked to health centers and hospitals.

As part of this increase, the ministry will also subsidize certain medicines and invest in an epidemiology department to prevent the spread of diseases among the population.

Addressing the problem of land availability for new medical facilities, ministry sources said that the problem can be solved by increasing the number of committees to oversee the purchase of land allocated for public services. Over 125 new warehouses will be established throughout the Kingdom to serve hospitals that do not have these kind of structures, since they are essential for the storage of medicines and medical supplies.