His Excellency the Minister of Health, Mr. Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Al-Jalajel, inaugurated today (Sunday) the Global Health Forum and its accompanying Exhibition, from 29-31 October under the slogan “Invest in Health”, in the presence of a number of Their Excellencies, senior officials and CEOs of major companies in the health sector, and with the participation of 300 local and international companies in the health fields.
In his speech during the opening ceremony, Aljlajel stated that the “Global Health Exhibition” aims to achieve a vibrant society for better health, in addition to enhancing investment in the healthcare sector. The Exhibition contains many medical innovations and technologies that contribute to improving the public health of individuals. On the sidelines of this exhibition, many promising agreements, and investment opportunities in the healthcare sector will also be launched.
He confirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has achieved many health goals over the past years up to the year 2023, as the average lifespan of an individual reached 77.6 years, while it was only 74 years in 2016. On the other hand, road accident mortality decreased by 13 out of every 100,000 people at a decrease rate of more than 39%, as it was 28 people per 100,000 people. The healthcare services coverage index rose to nearly 94%, up from 81% years ago, in addition to exceeding the targets in the index of premature deaths resulting from chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, to decrease to 500 per 100,000 persons, after it was 600 deaths per 100,000 persons.
He explained that the Kingdom has taken broad and qualitative steps in its health transformation journey. This made the Kingdom an ideal place to invest in health, expecting an increase in the volume of the health sector’s contributions to the gross domestic product (GDP) from SR 199 billion in 2020 to SR 318 billion in 2030. In addition, the private sector’s contributions to the gross domestic product (GDP) will have a greater role in the next stage, as it is expected to reach SR 145 billion in the year 2030, instead of SR 72 billion in 2020. He added, “I call on all investors to invest in the Saudi healthcare sector which will reach a total value of SR 330 billion by the year 2030”.
During his inaugural speech, the Minister reviewed the plan of the promising investment opportunities in the healthcare sector, including the field of “biotechnology and vaccines,” which is expected to grow in the Kingdom to approximately SR130 billion by 2040, in addition to the fields of “Health Manufacturing”, “Research and Innovation”, “Medical Tourism”, and “Digital Health Solutions”.
He pointed out that the Saudi Vision 2030 has set the equation of global leadership for the health sector in the Kingdom, by “moving from focusing on pain to investing in hope, paying attention to therapeutic prevention, and focusing on the beneficiary and not just the bed.”
For his part, the Minister of Investment, Engineer Khalid Al-Falih, stated that the state spends 15 percent of its budget on investments in the healthcare sector, noting the successes of the healthcare sector in the Kingdom. In addition, he stressed the importance of investing in this sector, as the rate of the private sector participation locally is 11 percent, and the target in the Vision 2030 is 65 percent, and that there are huge investment opportunities, where the health insurance sector and all health sectors have investment growth opportunities more than three times over the next ten years.
He said: “The pharmaceutical and bio-industry field is one of the most prominent areas of investment in the healthcare sector, as well as the field of health service insurance, medical equipment and devices, and digital technologies in hospitals. There are wide opportunities for investment, especially with the entry of private medical insurance companies into the field of healthcare in the Kingdom, and the importance of investing in the scientific research, innovation, and clinical trials in health fields”. He pointed out that the most prominent incentives for the investment market in the health sector are: the increase in the population, doubling the market size, the availability of an attractive investment environment, in addition to developing the pharmaceutical industry.
The Minister of Investment added that there are many investment opportunities in the healthcare sector, such as investing in technologies and innovation through developing emerging technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare services, in addition to building and operating hospitals and clinics, new technologies, manufacturing medicines and medical devices locally. There is also medical education and training to develop the workforce by investing in enhancing knowledge through medical education and training programs, along with health insurance and logistics services.
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Mr. Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, also explained that the industrial health sector has achieved many important successes during the past four years, including the pharmaceutical industries, indicating that “248 Committee” was established to identify national needs, and how to achieve these needs. It is noteworthy that this committee is concerned with ensuring the availability of medicines in the Kingdom, and includes a scientific team that has studied 1,000 medicines, and chose 200 of them, where it is planned to localize 40% of these medicines.
He pointed out that the "399 Committee" is a high-level committee, which includes a number of ministers and all stakeholders, and it coordinates joint work between all these parties to achieve the goals of the healthcare sector.
It is worth noting that the 6th edition of the Global Health Exhibition is being held at ROSHN Exhibition and Conference Front (formerly Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center" RFECC"), and it represents the most prominent event in the healthcare field. It highlights the latest innovations and technologies in the medical and health fields. It includes many specialized programs and workshops, and 30 dialogue sessions to be addressed by 100 specialists and experts. The Healthcare Leaders Conference will also discuss key aspects of the healthcare system in the Kingdom in the context of the healthcare sector transformation program, and it reviews 8 medical and health fields, including consumables, healthcare and public services, imaging and diagnosis, infrastructure, laboratory equipment and devices, medical equipment and devices, in addition to medicines, nutrition, IT systems and solutions.