There has been an increase in the number of visits to outpatient clinics of health institutions to 14.9 million visits, which amounted to 41,000 visits per day.
According to the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) annual report for the year 2022, the number of inpatients discharged from hospitals stood at 295,000, with a bed occupancy rate of 59.6 per cent.
The report indicated that about 37.9 per cent of outpatient morbidity was due to infectious diseases, while non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represented 43.5 per cent, and the number of cases sent for treatment abroad increased to 1,040.
The report indicated a significant increase in dengue fever, with cases reaching 1,989 cases, because of which the ministry is cooperating with the relevant authorities to combat the Aedes mosquito (the carrier of this disease).
The report explained that 11,600 cases of injury in outpatient clinics and accident and emergency departments were due to traffic accidents, with 3,164 cases, and the number of deaths reaching 188.
The report added that the total number of health institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Health until the end of last year stood at 263, including 50 hospitals with a capacity of 4,954 beds, apart from 21 health complexes, and 192 health centres.
HEART DISEASES
The report said patients admitted to hospitals affiliated with the Ministry of Health indicate that about 13 out of every 10,000 residents were hospitalised due to ischemic heart disease, also called coronary heart disease (CHD) in 2022, seven out of every 10,000 residents due to febrile infectious diseases (respiratory tract infections, mononucleosis, dengue, malaria, and typhoid fever, including Covid-19), and six out of every 10,000 residents are hospitalised due to diabetes and about two out of every 10,000 residents due to high blood pressure.
The report also indicates that the ministry’s efforts in student immunisations reached about 100 per cent, in addition to environmental health activities, drinking water quality, and health conditions and nutrition for students, in addition to mental health.
The report showed a decline of 29.8 per cent in the number of deaths in hospitals affiliated with the ministry during the year 2022 (4,287 deaths) compared to 6,110 deaths in 2021. There was a decline in the crude birth rate to reach 15.7 live births per thousand population, compared to 20.7 in 2015.
The infant mortality rate decreased from 9.5 deaths per thousand live births in 2015 to 8.8 during the year 2022, and the mortality rate decreased. Mothers also reached 17.1 deaths per 100,000 live births for the same period.
INFECTIONS
The report showed that infection rates from infectious diseases fell to low levels, and this is due to an immunisation programme, especially for young people, where immunisation rates exceed 98 per cent.
The report pointed out that 12 people donated kidneys and 10 donated liver, and in return 13 kidney transplants and 10 liver transplants were performed, and more than 79,000 different surgical operations were performed.
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