Saudi global health show highlights major public care programs

Exhibitors displayed their latest technological advances and innovations in the health sector. (AN photo by Huda Bashatah)

Dr. Abdullah Al-Anazi and Dr. Riyad Al-Ghamdi held sessions regarding health promotion. (AN photo by Huda Bashatah)

• Several pacts inked to improve services in the Kingdom
• Annual surveillance of smokers proposed by National Guard doctors

RIYADH: The Global Health Exhibition, which recently ended in Riyadh, saw policymakers, professionals and companies discuss critical challenges facing the local and global industry.
The exhibition ran from Oct. 9 to 11 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center with over 250 exhibitors from more than 30 countries.
Local and international companies that participated included 3M Arabia, Abbott, Al-Borg Diagnostics, Ajlan and Bros Group, Baxter, NEOM, Philips, Siemens and NUPCO.
With the Kingdom’s industry changing rapidly, this year’s theme was “Transformation in the Health Sector,” with exhibitors displaying their latest technological advances and innovations.
Five continuing medical education, or CME, conferences were held: Leaders Forum, Quality in Healthcare, Innov8 Talks, Future of Diagnostics in labs and radiology, and Public Health.
The Public Health conference, featuring academic input and sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Health, proposed several methods to tackle the prevalence of chronic diseases.
On the last day of the Public Health conference, session four handled the subject of promoting awareness and services.
One presentation titled “How our history informs the future: Forty years of tobacco smoking and prevention in Saudi Arabia (1980-2020)” was given by Dr. Abdullah Al-Anazi, head of the smoking cessation program at the National Guard Hospital in Riyadh.
“In Saudi, we don’t have a standardized study that addresses the entire trend of smoking in the Kingdom. Therefore, what my colleague and I did is that we gathered all records — 654 of them — in the country which documented cigarette and hookah smoking in the past 40 years.”
Al-Anazi proposed that the government introduces an annual, standardized surveillance system on the behavior of all smokers in the country.
Another presentation, on the regulatory challenges facing the Saudi public health system, was given by Dr. Riyad Alghamdi, deputy CEO for transformation, and a consultant, at the Saudi Public Health Authority. Alghamdi highlighted the importance of proper implementation of policies across the country.
On the sidelines of the event, a number of private Saudi companies signed cooperation and supply agreements with multinational firms for the provision of services, particular to tackle rare illnesses.
The Kingdom’s National Health Sector Transformation Program has identified the importance of facilitating access to services with the development of advanced care systems.