PHSSR Saudi Arabia 2025

Findings: key themes for sustainability and resilience Domain 1: Governance Sustainability •With the implementation of Vision 2030 , central government and local authorities aim to streamline governance by aligning their planning processes and ensuring communication and collaboration. •The National Transformation Programme 2020 includes speci fic targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the progress and effectiveness of initiatives. These KPIs are regularly monitored, and reports are published to ensure accountability and transparency •The healthcare system is increasingly prioritizing inclusivity and transparency in national decision- making. •The health information system is still in the developmental phase, which adds to the complexity of healthcare governance. •There is still limited patient participation in the healthcare decision-making process. •There is a need for a more stringent regulatory mechanism to ensure quality, safety, and accountability within the system to improve healthcare governance in Saudi Arabia. Resilience •The country’s long experience of population health risk assessment and mitigation (for example, during the annual pilgrimages and prior experience with MERS-CoV) plays a vital role in finding effective solutions to governance challenges during national health crises. •Strong governance and decisive policy-making, underpinned by centralised authority and good coordination between the healthcare system’s sectors – including healthcare providers, public health agencies and government bodies – allowed policies to be swiftly implemented to protect the population. •Existing strong communication and coordination between the different sectors played a vital role in the implementation of effective strategies to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19. •Coordination between different levels of the health system ensured a uni fied response, enabling the efficient allocation of resources and the delivery of high-quality care throughout the crisis. •Collaboration between the health and non-health sectors allowed for the rapid dissemination of accurate and up-to-date information, fostering public trust and adherence to preventive measures. •The country lacks a single, nationwide database providing real-time national-level status health updates of communicable and noncommunicable diseases other than Covid19. •Given the growth in the Saudi population, government investment to integrate and forge successful strategic partnerships with the private sector is essential. This includes expanding essential industries at the national level to improve health security and self-su fficiency. •Establishing and implementing plans for national health security and self-su fficiency are crucial to safeguard the well-being of the population and ensure the resilience of healthcare infrastructure. •Development of comprehensive strategies that incorporate preventative measures, emergency response capabilities and robust supply chains will allow effective management and mitigation of the effects of future potential health crises. Such plans should foster collaboration between government agencies, healthcare providers and private sector stakeholders. •Promoting self-su fficiency in pharmaceutical production and medical equipment manufacturing will reduce reliance on foreign imports, enhancing national health security. 8 Sustainability and Resilience in the Saudi Arabian Health System The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience