Health in Saudi Arabia refers to the overall health of the population of Saudi Arabia. Government prioritization of preventive healthcare and environmental health began in 1925 following the establishment of a public health department. The decision to create it came after a royal decree from King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. The government announced plans to increase taxes on soft drinks and tobacco in December 2015. [1]
Across the whole population from 1995 to 2000, 36.9% were overweight and 35.6% were obese. Rates were high amongst children aged 5–17, as 16.7% of boys and 19.4% of girls were overweight. By 2006, 52% of men, 66% of women, 18% of teenagers, and 15% of preschoolers were overweight or obese. [2]
In 2008, 17.99% of deaths were caused by cardiovascular disease. [3] During this year, 95% of the 424,968 total appointments to diabetics clinics were made for Saudi citizens. 55% of these diabetic citizens were women and 44% were men. [3]
The latest national prevalence for childhood obesity (ages 5 to 18) in Saudi Arabia reported: 23.1% were overweight, 9.3% were obese and 2% were severely obese (2%) (El-Mouzan et al., 2010). [4]
Part of the reason for the high rate of overweight and obesity within the population are urban residents that consume hypercaloric foods while maintaining a sedentary lifestyle. The less-than physically demanding lifestyle urban residents lead is linked to a high level of education and income. [5] In addition, women had an increased risk of obesity because of cultural and religious beliefs that require women to stay at home as a housewife. [5] Women are prohibited from using hotel gyms and pools and are targets of harassment when they exercise publicly. This is based on the belief that giving women the freedom to exercise would lead to the corruption and decline of the nation. In schools, physical activity for girls is avoided because some fear that changing clothes outside of the home would cause girls to lose their shyness, an admirable moral quality. [2]
As part of WHO's goal to eradicate the use of synthetic trans fats by 2023, Saudi Arabia has taken a serious measures to reduce trans fat in food industry. [6] In a similar context, Saudi Arabia has imposed 50% tax on soft drinks. [6]
In June 2010, the Council of Ministers urged the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to restrict smoking at all airports and their facilities in the Kingdom, and strict rules were imposed. It also advised GACA to impose a fine of SR200 (US$53) on people who violate the new regulations. [7] Many commercial buildings and work places banned smoking at offices in an attempt to stop smoking in public places. In addition, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran launched a program in 2010 to make their university smoke-free, and Umm al-Qura University in Mecca launched a campaign with the same title[ clarification needed ] in 2011. [8] In May 2012, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh banned people from smoking in and around its buildings, the first such move in the country. The hospital implemented fines of SR200 for violations.
On 30 July 2012, Interior Minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz ordered the implementation of a royal ban on smoking in all government facilities (ministries, buildings, institutions, offices etc.) [9] and most indoor public places. The ban also prohibits smoking of hookahs in public places, and prohibits selling tobacco to anyone under 18. [10] [11] On 1 December 2012, the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities (SCTA) imposed a ban on smoking in all tourism facilities. [12]
In 2019, Saudi Arabia received an award for fighting and preventing smoking in the 72nd session of the World Health Assembly. [6] Another decision was made in 2019 that charges restaurants and cafes selling tobacco products an annual amount of $26,675. [13] It is worth mentioning that Saudi Arabia imposed a 100% tax on electronic cigarettes. [6]
In February 2019, Saudi Arabia announced that it is going to take serious measures to prevent cancer. In this context, Saudi Arabia aims to be a global leader in such a field, especially that cancer has become the first killer in the Middle East. Thus, the Saudi Ministry of Health is going to make a number of initiatives that include, implementing an advanced screening program, improving palliative care and developing awareness in health care. [14]
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus.(MERS‐CoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. MERS or middle eastern respiratory syndrome related corona virus (MERS‐CoV) is a COVID-19 variant that effects primarily camels but can be transmitted to humans. [15]
When infected with the MERS virus one can experience a range of symptoms. Some of these symptoms may include cough, fever and shortness of breath. If the infection is left untreated some patients can develop pneumonia or gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea. Older and health compromised people are more susceptible and vulnerable to the virus. In addition to this, they are more likely to experience severe illness such as respiratory failure. [16]
Transmission: MERS is a zoonotic virus, meaning it is transmitted between animals and people. The virus has primarily been transmitted by camel to camel. However, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list MERS as transmissible from human to human. [15] Over 90% of adult dromedaries in the Arabian Peninsula have antibodies against MERS. Two humped camels in Mongolia and China as well as dromedaries in Australia do not have MERS antibodies and therefore have not been exposed to the virus. Some studies have shown that humans are infected through direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels. Even though the exact route of transmission remains unclear, It has been theorized that infected calf suckling its mother is a transmission point from animal to human. This is due to the young calf that may be clinically sick from MERS, leaving virus residue on the mother's udder. This can lead to contaminated milk and physical contamination of the hand of the milker. [15]
An emergent virus is a virus that is either newly appeared, notably increasing in incidence/geographic range or has the potential to increase in the near future. Emergent viruses are a leading cause of emerging infectious diseases and raise public health challenges globally, given their potential to cause outbreaks of disease which can lead to epidemics and pandemics. As well as causing disease, emergent viruses can also have severe economic implications. Recent examples include the SARS-related coronaviruses, which have caused the 2002-2004 outbreak of SARS (SARS-CoV-1) and the 2019–21 pandemic of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). Other examples include the human immunodeficiency virus which causes HIV/AIDS; the viruses responsible for Ebola; the H5N1 influenza virus responsible for avian flu; and H1N1/09, which caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Viral emergence in humans is often a consequence of zoonosis, which involves a cross-species jump of a viral disease into humans from other animals. As zoonotic viruses exist in animal reservoirs, they are much more difficult to eradicate and can therefore establish persistent infections in human populations.
Alkhurma virus (ALKV) is a zoonotic virus of the Flaviviridae virus family. ALKV causes Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever (AHF), or alternatively termed as Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus, and is mainly based in Saudi Arabia.
As for many developing countries, health issues in Iran stem from a variety of reasons: namely, water and sanitation, diet and fitness, various addictions, mental fitness, communicable diseases, hygiene and the environment.
Life expectancy has been rising rapidly and South Korea ranked 3rd in the world for life expectancy. South Korea has among the lowest HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate in the world, with just 0.1% of the population being infected, significantly lower than the U.S. at 0.6%, France's 0.4%, and the UK's 0.3% prevalence rate. South Korea has a good influenza vaccination rate, with a total of 43.5% of the population being vaccinated in 2019. A new measure of expected human capital calculated for 195 countries from 1920 to 2016 and defined for each birth cohort as the expected years lived from age 20 to 64 years and adjusted for educational attainment, learning or education quality, and functional health status was published by the Lancet in September 2018. South Korea had the sixth highest level of expected human capital with 26 health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years.
Health in Israel is generally considered good.
Walter Ian Lipkin is the John Snow Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and a professor of Neurology and Pathology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. He is also director of the Center for Infection and Immunity, an academic laboratory for microbe hunting in acute and chronic diseases. Lipkin is internationally recognized for his work with West Nile virus, SARS and COVID-19.
In Kuwait, life expectancy at birth in 2013 was 78 for men and 79 for women.
Obesity in the Middle East and North Africa is a notable health issue. Out of the fifteen fattest nations in the world as of 2014, 5 were located in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Camel urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in a camel's anatomy. Urine from camels has been used in prophetic medicine for centuries, being a part of ancient Bedouin practices and also Muslim tradition. According to the World Health Organization, the use of camel urine as a traditional medicine lacks scientific evidence.
Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), or EMC/2012 (HCoV-EMC/2012), is the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). It is a species of coronavirus which infects humans, bats, and camels. The infecting virus is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which enters its host cell by binding to the DPP4 receptor. The species is a member of the genus Betacoronavirus and subgenus Merbecovirus.
The Ministry of Health, commonly abbreviated to MoH, is the ministry overseeing the health care and health policy of Saudi Arabia. The ministry is tasked with formulating strategies to ensure public health in the country, while also managing crucial health infrastructure.
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory infection caused by Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe depending on age and risk level Typical symptoms include fever, cough, diarrhea, and shortness of breath. The disease is typically more severe in those with other health problems.
Betacoronavirus is one of four genera of coronaviruses. Member viruses are enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses that infect mammals. The natural reservoir for betacoronaviruses are bats and rodents. Rodents are the reservoir for the subgenus Embecovirus, while bats are the reservoir for the other subgenera.
MERS coronavirus EMC/2012 is a strain of coronavirus isolated from the sputum of the first person to become infected with what was later named Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
Since 2012, an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus has affected several countries, primarily in its namesake, the Middle East. The virus, which causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), is a novel coronavirus that was first identified in a patient from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on June 6, 2012.
Life expectancy in Bahrain at birth in 2013 was 76 for men and 78 for women. Compared to many countries in the region, the prevalence of AIDS and HIV is relatively low. Malaria and tuberculosis (TB) do not constitute major problems in Bahrain as neither disease is indigenous to the country. As a result, cases of malaria and TB have declined in recent decades with cases of contractions amongst Bahraini nationals becoming rare. The Ministry of Health sponsors regular vaccination campaigns against TB and other diseases such as hepatitis B.
The 2018 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak was a set of infections of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV). The cases were most numerous in, and are believed to have originated from, Saudi Arabia.
Smoking in Saudi Arabia is banned in airports, workplaces, universities, research centers, hospitals, government buildings, all public places, places involved with tourism, and in and around all places associated with religion, education, public events, sporting establishments, charity associations, all forms of public transport and their associated facilities, plants for manufacturing or processing items, and a large proportion of public places.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the 2020 Hajj (pilgrimage), which is the fifth pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, where millions of Muslims from around the world visit Mecca and Medina every year during Hajj season for a week. Over 2,400,000 pilgrims attended Hajj in 2019. Due to the highly contagious nature of COVID-19 in crowded places, various international travel restrictions, and social distancing recommendations, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah advised Muslims to postpone their pilgrimage until the pandemic was mitigated. However, in June 2020, the Ministry opened up Hajj to people of all nationalities residing in Saudi Arabia, with foreigners still banned from attending to ensure pilgrims' safety and prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
