Healthcare and Saudi Arabia

In July 2004, Saudi Arabia’s population was estimated to be 25,795,938, with a growth rate of about 2.4 percent. The population total includes 5,576,076 non-nationals. Nearly 100,000 foreigners enter the country each year, mostly to fill specific job openings. Immigrant workers come primarily from other Arab and Muslim countries, including many from South Asia and the Philippines. Fewer than 100,000 Westerners work and live in SaudiArabia. Because most of the terrain is unsuitable for cultivation, the coastal areas and interior oases support the vast majority of the population. Some cities have reported densities of 1,000 people per square kilometer. The Mecca region, which also contains the major city of Jiddah, is the most populated area of the country, containing nearly 26 percent of the total population. Other population centers include Riyadh and the clustered Eastern Province cities of Ad Dammam, Khobar, and Dhahran. The least populated regions lie at the kingdom’s periphery, to the extreme north and south.

The Saudi government does not release comprehensive healthstatistics, but estimates on human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) place the adult prevalence rate at 0.01 percent. In 2004, 85 cases of AIDS were reported. In most recent decades, Saudi Arabia has struggled to eradicate poliomyelitis, malaria, and leishmaniasis. The health status of women and children has attracted some concern from international organizations. Islamic law condemns violence against any innocent persons, but health workers report that physical spousal abuse and violence against women appear to be common problems. To address this problem, the Saudi government has now mandated that hospitals report any suspicions of violence against women, domestic or otherwise, to law enforcement officials. Perhaps most disturbingly, abuse of children also seems to be a significant problem.

Among developing nations, as categorized by the United Nations, Saudi Arabia ranks thirtieth on the Human and Income Poverty Index, ahead of most of its Middle East neighbors. Overall, Saudi Arabia ranks 73rd out of 175 on the 2003 United Nations Development Report. Saudi Arabia, through its series of five-year Development Plans, continues to transform oil wealth into broader economic prosperity. Plans to convert the workforce, currently dominated by foreign workers, into one composed mostly of Saudis will help address the nation’s high unemployment.

The General Organization for Social Insurance provides some assistance to retired workers and those injured on the job. Old-age pensions, funded by payroll taxes, are paid to retired workers at a rate of 2.5 percent of one’s last average salary. Men must be 60 years of age and women 55 in order to begin receiving payments. Additionally, all Saudis are granted a plot of land and a small loan to build a house. Nevertheless, the perception that oil revenues are not equitably distributed throughout the population continues to create some social discontent. http://healthcareatm.com/