PHSSR Saudi Arabia 2025

In the past two decades, primary health services have improved signi ficantly, this is re flected in patient satisfaction scores of, for example, 71.7% in March 2018 and 75.1% in March 2019 (Al- Khashan et al., 2021). A study of the impact of socioeconomic determinants and inequalities on the prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), using data from a 2018 national survey, found that prevalence varied signi ficantly according to age, gender, education level, monthly income and region of residence, indicating disparities in access to healthcare across different socioeconomic groups. Another study examined the relationship between socioeconomic inequalities and undertaking preventive health check-ups and found that the uptake of such check-ups was concentrated among people with greater wealth (Al-Hanawi MK & Chirwa GC, 2021). Income and education were identi fied as the primary drivers of the associated inequality. These findings suggest that policy- makers may need to address certain socioeconomic disparities in access to care. Over the past two decades, the MoH has implemented four national initiatives to address the country’s high rates of NCDs. In 2001, a specialised committee was assigned to develop the programme. The second and third initiatives, in 2006–2011 and 2012–2016, respectively, were Country Cooperation Strategies which recommended the prioritisation of health promotion and the development of an integrated programme for health education and research. The fourth, and current, initiative is the National Executive Plan for NCDs (2014–2025), which is a comprehensive national plan to combat NCDs that aligns with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decisions on NCDs and with the WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013–2020. This plan aims to control and prevent NCDs from becoming more complicated, with guidance from ‘best buy’ interventions, including promoting physical activity, raising tobacco taxes and reducing salt consumption. According to the WHO, these interventions are evidence-based, cost-effective and appropriate for implementation within health systems. (World Health Organisation, NCD Country Capacity Survey, 2019). Over the past five years, the government has instituted transformational changes that focus on the integration of wellness services into the provision of clinical care, steering towards a more value- based health system. The new health service model will consider the needs of the population, the contribution of stakeholders and experiences shared with the international health community. The holistic integration of primary, secondary and tertiary health services across the country utilises existing health service units and moves from a provider-centric to a people-centric system, called Health Clusters and Accountable Healthcare Organisations. Since health system transformation is an ongoing process with multiple initiatives being rolled out, it is di fficult at the present time to report the outcomes of these initiatives; we recommend that this matter is revisited in the future. The Saudi Arabian government has implemented several national policies and programmes to reduce both the incidence of chronic diseases and socioeconomic disparities. The Vision 2030 plan is one such initiative that aims to raise awareness and control chronic diseases, reduce complications and improve overall public health. HSTP is a key Vision 2030 programme that focuses on reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases through preventative healthcare measures, including promoting healthy lifestyles, increasing access to healthcare services and improving the quality of care. Another initiative is the MoH supported Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Programme, which focuses on promoting physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco control. This programme has made signi ficant progress in reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases. The Saudi Arabian government is collaborating with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to strengthen the capabilities of the Saudi public health workforce for investigate and respond to disease outbreaks, including NCDs. This collaboration is helping to building disease surveillance and response capacity, contributing to a reduction in the incidence of NCDs. While these programmes have made strides in improving public health, reducing the incidence of chronic diseases is an ongoing process. The government’s continuous efforts to raise awareness, promote healthy lifestyles and invest in healthcare infrastructure are expected to yield positive results in the long run. 61 Sustainability and Resilience in the Saudi Arabian Health System The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience