Saudi Arabia has all but defeated the Coronavirus pandemic within its borders.
New cases in Saudi Arabia have remained below the 100 mark since mid-September, making the Kingdom the envy of most other countries who are struggling to keep the virus under control.
A new report from Jadwa Investment highlights how Saudi Arabia’s approach to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic can be held up as an effective model to the world.
“This relates not only to the initial swift lockdown of the country when news of the pandemic became known, but also around disease analysis, virus tracking and in the roll-out of the vaccination program. While Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector has been at the center of an (ongoing) battle against the pandemic, life is on the path to returning to normal, with a staggered lifting of measures and restrictions coinciding with higher rates of administered vaccinations,” Jadwa said, in a research note on the Kingdom’s healthcare sector.
Healthcare goals of Vision 2030.
“This return to normalcy will also be somewhat mirrored by the healthcare sector, with an increasing focus on more typical health concerns of the local population, rather than emergency pandemic-related healthcare provision,” according to Jadwa. “More specifically, the demographic profile of the Kingdom presents some pressing challenges for the healthcare sector. On the one hand, it means addressing the needs of a sizable youth population, which exhibits comparatively higher levels of chronic health conditions, and, on the other hand, the challenge of providing suitable healthcare provisions for a larger elderly population in the future.”
Saudi Arabia has all but defeated the Coronavirus pandemic.
With these challenges in mind, the Vision 2030 has unveiled a roadmap aimed at developing the sector in order to address current and upcoming challenges. At the heart of the plans lies the desire to foster a partnership between the private and public sector, especially so through channeling hitherto limited private sector investment into the local healthcare system.
The population pyramid within Saudi Arabia is heavily skewed towards the younger age groups. Looking ahead, the 60+ age group is expected to reach 10.3 million by 2050 (Figure 4) and, with it, the demand for elderly healthcare services are also likely to grow significantly, Jadwa notes.
[Click here to read the full report from Jadwa Investment] [Arabic]
