Middle East

Improving health equity, quality and governance in the Middle East

Launched in the Middle East in 2021, Movement Health 2030 aims to contribute to innovating health systems, improving digital health decision-making, data exchange, and health financing, so that everyone can live their best, healthiest lives.
Find out more about Movement Health 2030 in the Middle East…

Regional Challenges

Health and digital decision-making
From expanding existing digital systems to building others, best practice solutions can be tested and scaled across the region to make a difference in people’s lives.
Equity and access
Improving data infrastructure and prioritising universal healthcare could improve access to care in the Middle East.
Lifestyle diseases and prevention
Rewarding prevention and integrating new technologies could reduce the rise in lifestyle and chronic conditions and improve patient treatments.
Medical tourism
With strong leadership, cross-border policies, and investment in health tech, the region could become a health tourism hub that benefits all people.

Our story: A Holistic Approach to Transform Care

Middle Eastern healthcare systems are under pressure from multiple angles – from the challenging effects of COVID-19 and the growth of lifestyle and chronic conditions, to ageing populations and persisting inequities in access to care.

Movement Health 2030 aims to address these regional healthcare challenges by advancing health leadership, driving health innovation from a finance, governance and tech perspective, and positioning the region as a health tourism hub, and will use multiple approaches to achieve this goal.

This will mean enhancing already advanced healthcare systems in some countries, while helping others “leapfrog” forward via innovative technologies and governance and economic models.

In addition, Movement Health 2030 will work with elected leaders and policymakers to support cross- border collaboration, as well as healthcare system partnerships to make the necessary and meaningful impact with the aim to save lives.

Middle East

In the Middle East, Movement Health 2030 is working in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders in Jordan, UAE and Iraq to help create better healthcare for all.

Although there are considerable differences in digitalisation levels, general healthcare system advancement, economic prospects, and cultures across the Middle East, many countries still share very similar healthcare challenges that could be addressed via cross-border collaboration, notably:

United Arab Emirates

Healthcare in the UAE is known to be among some of the best in the world. There are 181 doctors per 100,000 residents.

Iraq

The Iraqi government has several national health plans and is committed to universal healthcare.

Jordan

Jordan is one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the Middle East, with high healthcare spending, a strong national health strategy and a well-trained health workforce.

A rise of 10% in the last 20 years.
From 66 years in some countries to 82 in others.
With some countries very advanced and others lagging behind.
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United Arab Emirates

Healthcare in the UAE is known to be among some of the best in the world. There are 181 doctors per 100,000 residents. The UAE Ministry of Health (MoHAP) has established the country’s Unified Medical Record System to help public and private facilities to collaborate on patient medical records and clinical details but there is still more that can be done from an overall collaborations perspective.

Levels similar to Europe and North America.
The new-born mortality rate has been reduced to 5.54 per 1000 and infant mortality to 6.4 per 1000.
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Iraq

The Iraqi government has several national health plans and is committed to universal healthcare. Nevertheless, Iraq is also witnessing financial and legal developments, which create some barriers to improved treatment quality and extended access to care for all. Currently, Iraq is also experiencing a shortage of trained medical staff and medicines.

For instance, Jordan spends around 7.5%, and roughly a third of the average for OECD members (around 12.5%).
Such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases.
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Jordan

Jordan is one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the Middle East, with high healthcare spending, a strong national health strategy and a well-trained health workforce. It could improve healthcare governance processes, the geographic distribution of healthcare workers, and enhance health data management and exchange. By doing so, Jordan could extend universal healthcare coverage and further position itself as a health tourism hub.

50% of those 20 years old and above are smokers and more than 70% are overweight.
(Around 13.8% of GDP in 2018), compared to counterparts in the region and the global average of 9.9%.