Saudi-Arabien Wirtschaftshandbuch Saudi Arabia Business ... - Ghorfa

enTWicklunG WichTiGer SekTOren unD POTenziAle – – develoPment of ImPortAnt SectorS And exIStInG PotentIAlS
this development. In the past two decades, the death rate
among children under the age of 5 has dropped from 85
to 22 per 1,000 new births whilst the newborn death rate
dropped from 65 to 18 per 1,000 new births. The life expectancy
rose from 61 to 72. According to these indicators,
Saudi Arabia ranks way above other middle income countries
and also way above most other Arab countries.
In Saudi Arabia there are a total of 379 public and private
hospitals with 53,200 beds, 43,350 doctors and
79,990 nursing staff. There are also 1,905 health centres
via which the Ministry for Health guarantees basic
medical care to the general population. Around 24% of
all hospital beds and 32% of the doctors worked in the
private sector in 2006. In total, the private sector has
over 123 hospitals with 12,450 beds and 1,055 medical
outpatient facilities, 795 health care centres and 59
medical laboratory facilities. Although the percentage of
the private sector in the health infrastructure as a whole
has remained almost unchanged, its share of the effective
services has risen in recent years.
In 2002 the cabinet decided to introduce a new health
system to guarantee a general basic medical service. Important
elements of this system are the creation of a nation-wide
network of health facilities, strengthening the
responsibility of the local health authorities and the privatisation
of state hospitals. Further goals of the health
program include raising the effectiveness of the medical
facilities, improving the qualifications of the medical personnel
whilst simultaneously raising the percentage of
Saudi staff and promoting the private sector in the health
system. The 8th development plan also provides for the
opening of 54 new hospitals and the construction of 42
further hospitals as well as the opening of 300 new health
centres and the construction of a further 1,250 health
centres. A further eight medical colleges will start teaching
to raise the percentage of Saudi health personnel to
50%. A total of 26.1 billion US$ has been approved for
the development of the health sector during this period.
Germany and Saudi Arabia have traditionally cooperated
intensively in the health sector field. The medical system
in Germany enjoys an excellent reputation among
the Saudi population and approx. 1,200 patients come
from the Kingdom to Germany every year. There is also
an active ongoing exchange between the institutes, hospitals
and universities of both countries with regard to technical
developments in the health field, medical training
and long-term investment planning. German companies
will also be able to play an active role in the future in supplying
the health institutes with technical equipment.
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