Qatar announces healthcare strategy to reduce illness, extend lives and boost wellbeing

Arabian Business

14-04-2025

Qatar has announced a new healthcare strategy as it looks to extend lives, reduce illnesses and enhance wellbeing of citizens and residents.
Under the theme 'Health for All,' Qatar is moving toward 2030 with a firm commitment to providing excellent and comprehensive healthcare to all residents.
This marks a new phase in the journey toward realising Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Third National Development Strategy (2024-2030), aimed at ensuring long, healthy lives for current and future generations.
Qatar healthcare strategy
By the end of 2024, all public health sector institutions, including the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, and the Primary Health Care Corporation, launched their respective health strategies for 2024-2030.
These strategies aim to meet the healthcare needs of the population according to the highest standards, while also achieving excellence and ensuring that Qatar enjoys the highest possible quality of life.
Through its Third National Health Strategy, Qatar is working to achieve several key healthcare goals, including:
Increasing life expectancy to 82.6 years
Reducing mortality from non-communicable diseases by 36 per cent
Lowering the infant mortality rate to 2 per 1,000 live births
Increasing the proportion of people engaging in at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week
Director of Strategic Planning and Performance Department at the Ministry of Public Health Huda Amer Al Katheeri said Qatar continues to develop its healthcare sector and promote the health and well-being of its population through the National Health Strategy 2024-2030.
This ambitious vision aims to build a comprehensive healthcare system that keeps pace with the latest developments and is founded on clinical excellence, sustainability, and innovation, she said.
Qatar's National Health Strategy 2024-2030 aims to improve individuals' health and ensure a longer and higher quality of life by focusing on the physical, psychological, and social aspects of health.
It is dedicated to creating an environment where the entire community participates in achieving health and well-being goals, enhancing both preventive and therapeutic interventions to reduce the spread of diseases and improve the quality of healthcare.
Al Katheeri pointed out that the strategy relies on an integrated approach aimed at achieving the highest clinical standards while ensuring the sustainability of financial and environmental resources for future generations.
The strategy's goals also include increasing local research and development, adopting innovative solutions, reducing non-communicable diseases, standardizing patient pathways, fully digitising the healthcare system, and focusing on transition centres.
These centres are a pivotal element in the healthcare system, working to rehabilitate patients and assist them in transitioning from hospital care to home or community care.
This approach enhances the role of rehabilitation services, contributing to improving the quality of life for patients and accelerating their recovery.
The Director of Strategic Planning and Performance Department at the Ministry of Public Health explained that the ambitions of the National Health Strategy are reflected in a set of priorities that aim to achieve a radical transformation in the healthcare system.
Efforts will be made to raise health awareness, empower individuals to adopt healthier lifestyles, and promote disease prevention and early detection.
The state also seeks to promote the concept of 'Health in All Policies' by integrating public health into various national policies to ensure integration across different sectors, which will positively impact the health of the community.
In terms of healthcare services, the strategy aims to achieve excellence in providing care and improving the patient experience by developing integrated care models that encompass all stages of treatment, from prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, all the way to community and extended care.
Improving the quality of primary and community care, while expanding the range of services offered in hospitals and specialised centres to ensure that all residents have access to advanced healthcare services that meet their needs efficiently and promptly, will be prioritised as well.
As part of its efforts to enhance the resilience and sustainability of the Qatar healthcare system, the strategy places special emphasis on developing governance systems and enhancing transparency in managing the healthcare sector.
It also adopts a health-financing model that ensures the sustainability of the services provided. The upcoming phase will witness a broad digital transformation in the healthcare sector, where digital solutions will be implemented to introduce new models of healthcare, enhance the patient experience, and maximise operational efficiency.
Additionally, there will be a focus on developing a unified database to support evidence-based decision-making and precise analyses in healthcare.
Al Katheeri said that the strategy prioritises research and development by enhancing the medical research environment, encouraging innovation in the healthcare sector, and providing the necessary infrastructure to support national and international cadres in this field.
The state will also work to improve the healthcare workforce by attracting the best medical talent and ensuring the optimal distribution of human resources, thus enhancing the efficiency of the healthcare system as a whole. The strategy prioritizes preparedness and effective response to health emergencies.
It will work to develop early warning systems and enhance the health sector's ability to respond to health crises efficiently and quickly, ensuring community protection and mitigating the impacts of epidemics and health disasters.
Al Katheeri also noted that the National Health Strategy includes 53 key initiatives covering different themes, such as promoting health literacy, expanding screening and early detection programs, and improving long-term care services, in addition to focusing on different population groups such as children, adolescents, the elderly, people with special needs, and workers.
Initiatives also include developing health governance systems, supporting research and innovation, strengthening public-private partnerships, and investing in biotechnology as a pillar of a sustainable health future.
The Qatar National Health Strategy 2024-2030 represents a pivotal step toward achieving a more integrated and resilient healthcare system that enhances the health and well-being of individuals and aligns with the country's aspirations for a sustainable, healthy future.
It is an ambitious vision based on clear scientific and methodological foundations, reflecting the State of Qatar's ongoing commitment to improving the quality of healthcare and ensuring a better life for all.