PHSSR Saudi Arabia 2025

Challenges and solutions Despite recent increases, life expectancy remains lower than most other G20 countries. The HSTP aims to achieve a life expectancy of 80 years by 2030 through establishing baselines for various risk factors, including disease burden and unhealthy behaviours, so that plans for prevention can be put in place. The MoH sponsors over 3,000 health centres across the country, which focus on prevention and primary care and which act as gatekeepers for the healthcare system, providing essential healthcare services to citizens and residents working in the public sector. The primary healthcare sector has played a vital role in improving health outcomes and reducing infant and maternal mortality rates. One reason for this success is decades long universal access to healthcare. The government also provides free health services to pilgrims visiting the Holy Mosque in Makkah. Overall, primary care is a crucial component of promoting health outcomes in Saudi Arabia, and the government is continuously working to improve and reform the primary healthcare sector. The MoH releases a Statistical Yearbook which re flects the activities and achievements of the health sector in the preceding year. It reviews health status features, including health resources, financial allocations, activities and health services provided by the ministry during the Hajj season and other data. It offers the possibility to incorporate the effect of socioeconomic variables, such as education, occupation, income, ethnicity and place of residence, on health resource utilisation and outcomes. The leading causes of death are shown in Figure12. NCDs, which account for 73% of deaths worldwide, remain a major public health challenge in Saudi Arabia. As in many developed and developing countries, the burden of NCDs is increasing, representing the leading cause of disability- adjusted life years with hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases among the leading causes of death. The HSTP recognises the importance of this category of diseases and focuses on ways to address NCD threats. 68 Sustainability and Resilience in the Saudi Arabian Health System The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience RANKING 2009RANKING 2019 % change 2009–2019 Ischaemic heart disease 1 1 Ischaemic heart disease 0.0% Stroke 2 2 Stroke −6.4% Kidney diseases 3 3 Road Injury 50.9% Road Injury 4 4 Kidney diseases 2.3% Lower respiratory infections 5 5 Lower respiratory infections −12.3% Falls 6 6 Falls −6.8% Cirrhosis of the liver 7 7 Cirrhosis of the liver 2.9% Neonatal conditions 8 8 Diabetes mellitus 10.3% Congenital anomalies 9 9 COPD −2.7% Diabetes mellitus 10 10 Alzheimer disease & dementias 8.4% Source: The Global Heath Observatory, website.Figure 12: Top 10 causes of deaths in 2009 and 2019 , and percentage change in rates, (all ages combined)