Health Care in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities

Tawfiq Khoja, Salman Rawaf, Waris Qidwai, David Rawaf, Kashmira Nanji, Aisha Hamad, Tawfiq Khoja, Salman Rawaf, Waris Qidwai, David Rawaf, Kashmira Nanji, Aisha Hamad

Abstract

This study was undertaken to review the health care status in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, and explore current challenges and future opportunities. Available data was acquired using databases including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. The data gathered was then combined and the expert authors in the field discussed and propose strategies to overcome the challenges. There is an increase in both population and health care needs of GCC States citizens and migrant workers. The huge emigrant population challenges the capability of the already limited available health care resources. The region is faced with a quadruple disease burden that includes communicable and non-communicable diseases, mental health issues and accidental injuries. Recent advances in technology have made breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment modalities but with an increase in overall health care cost. Innovative and cost-effective strategies are required to cater the health care needs of people living in the GCC states. Policy makers should emphasize the need to prioritize and strengthen primary care as a matter of urgency.

Keywords: gulf cooperation council states; health care; health care needs; health status; health systems; migrant workers; migrants; primary health care.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1. Total population of Gulf Cooperation…
Figure 1. Total population of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (2016).
Saudi Arabia is the most populous country among the GCC countries. While, the lowest populated country is Bahrain with 1.4 million population: refer to 'Population reference bureau, World population data sheet' [5].
Figure 2. Prevalence of diabetes in Gulf…
Figure 2. Prevalence of diabetes in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Oman has the lowest prevalence of diabetes (8.2%) among the GCC countries: refer to 'International Diabetes Federation diabetes atlas' [8].
Figure 3. Prevalence of obesity in Gulf…
Figure 3. Prevalence of obesity in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The rate of obesity is high for both gender (male: 36%, female: 48%) in Kuwait: refer to 'Global burden disease study results (2013)' [9].

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Source: PubMed

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