Muscat, Nov 19 - Health is not just about hospitals and the Ministry of Health, it is all about prevention, according to Minister of Health Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi. “Prevention is not in the hands of healthcare providers alone, it is in the hands of individuals,” he told the Observer. “Each one of us should take care of his/her health. Unfortunately, we in Oman and the region as such are leading in the world when it comes to non-communicable diseases — cancer, diabetes, heart diseases and respiratory diseases. Causes of these diseases are unhealthy lifestyles such as lack of exercise, consuming unhealthy food, smoking and excess alcohol. This is not in the hands of Ministry of Health. We urge every individual to exercise, maintain a healthy diet, stop smoking and control alcohol consumption,” urged Dr Al Saeedi. In 1970, life expectancy in Oman was less than 50 years. Today, it is 77 years, he said. “In 1970, we had only 12 hospital beds, today we have more than 6,500. In the 70s we had 15 physicians and today we have over 9,000 physicians and more than 20,000 nurses with over 70 hospitals in comparison to one or two hospitals,” said the minister.
According to the healthcare strategies stated in Oman Health Vision 2050, the health sector strived to ensure universal health coverage through an umbrella of health services distributed across Oman.
The government finances the health system, accounting for 81.1 per cent of total health expenditure. Healthcare is directly provided in facilities mainly owned and operated by the government.
The minister, however said that at times there may not be enough appreciation for what has been achieved in the health sector. “Some might feel the grass is greener on the other side. There are services in Oman that are free of charge for Omanis and which are of international standard. We should appreciate it.
I appreciate it and I use our health services and I think everyone else should too.
We have excellent doctors from Oman and abroad who are providing very good health care. We recently began liver transplant services and we have successfully completed two successful transplants.”
Talking about people going abroad for treatment, Dr Al Saeedi said: “Those who go on their own unfortunately end up in financial and social trouble. So the message is look after your own health and the second message is trust Oman’s health care system.
WHO has rated Oman’s health care system as one of the best in the world. We are not perfect but we are growing and in a short period of time, with His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’s guidance, the development that has been seen is almost a miracle.”
Oman Health Vision 2050 also says the health system is currently facing a number of challenges.
Studies have shown the population of Oman is ageing and facing an epidemiological shift to non-communicable diseases. Health system is facing the escalating cost of healthcare and advancements of technology.
Oman Health Vision 2050 notes that the epidemiological shift and the dominance of non-communicable diseases, lifestyle and behavioural changes, global health threats such as pandemics, environmental and climate change, and the high cost of health technology and services are considered a challenge for the health system and the public health practice.
Lakshmi Kothaneth
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