Editing Saudi Arabia (section)

=== Health care ===
{{Main|Health in Saudi Arabia|Health care in Saudi Arabia}}
[[File:Sauditwins 17.jpg|thumb|Saudi twins receiving care from doctors at [[King Abdulaziz Medical City]] in [[Riyadh]]]]

Saudi Arabia has a national health care system in which the government provides free health care services through government agencies. Saudi Arabia has been ranked among the 26 best countries in providing high quality healthcare.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Al-Hanawi|first1=Mohammed Khaled|last2=Khan|first2=Sami A.|last3=Al-Borie|first3=Hussein Mohammed|date=2019-02-27|title=Healthcare human resource development in Saudi Arabia: emerging challenges and opportunities—a critical review|journal=Public Health Reviews|volume=40|issue=1|pages=1|doi=10.1186/s40985-019-0112-4|pmid=30858991|pmc=6391748|issn=2107-6952 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Ministry of Health (Saudi Arabia)|Ministry of Health]] is the major government agency entrusted with the provision of preventive, curative, and rehabilitative health care. The ministry's origins can be traced to 1925, when several regional health departments were established, with the first in Makkah. The various healthcare institutions were merged to become a ministerial body in 1950.<ref>{{cite book|author=David E. Long|title=Culture and Customs of Saudi Arabia|url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00long|url-access=registration|date=1 January 2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32021-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00long/page/15 15]}}</ref> The Health Ministry created a friendly competition between each of the districts and between different medical services and hospitals. This idea resulted in the creation of the "Ada'a" project launched in 2016. The new system is a nationwide performance indicator, for services and hospitals. Waiting times and other major measurements improved dramatically across the kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Saudi Arabia's 937 Service Center received 80,007 calls last week |date=15 October 2018 |url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1387831/saudi-arabia |publisher=[[Arab News]]}}</ref>

[[File:Life_expectancy_in_Saudi Arabia.svg|thumb|left|Historical development of life expectancy in Saudi Arabia]]

A new strategy has been developed by the ministry, known as Diet and Physical Activity Strategy or DPAS for short,<ref>{{cite web |title=It's time to tip the scale against Saudi Arabia's obesity problem |url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1349476 |publisher=Arab News |date=1 August 2018}}</ref> to address bad lifestyle choices. The ministry advised that there should be a tax increase on unhealthy food, drink, and cigarettes. This additional tax could be used to improve healthcare offerings. The tax was implemented in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shalhoub |first1=Lulwa |title=New tax doubles the price of cigarettes, energy drinks in Saudi Arabia |date=12 June 2017 |url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1113771/saudi-arabia |publisher=[[Arab News]]}}</ref> As part of the same strategy, calorie labels were added in 2019 to some food and drink products. Ingredients were also listed as an aim to reduce obesity and inform citizens with health issues to manage their diet.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gillett |first1=Katy |title=Saudi Arabia brings in mandatory calorie labels on menus |date=2 January 2019 |url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/saudi-arabia-brings-in-mandatory-calorie-labels-on-menus-1.808556 |publisher=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]}}</ref> As part of the ongoing focus on tackling obesity, women-only gyms were allowed to open in 2017. Sports offered in each of these gyms include bodybuilding, running and swimming to maintain higher standards of health.<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Charles |title=Saudi Arabia to allow women to use gyms to lose weight |url=https://metro.co.uk/2017/02/13/saudi-arabia-to-allow-women-to-use-gyms-to-lose-weight-6446103/ |publisher=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]] |date=13 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fitness First confirms launch of ladies-only gyms in KSA |date=4 March 2017 |url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1063326/corporate-news |publisher=[[Arab News]]}}</ref>

[[Smoking in Saudi Arabia|Smoking in all age groups]] is widespread. In 2009 the lowest median percentage of smokers was university students (~13.5%) while the highest was elderly people (~25%). The study also found the median percentage of male smokers to be much higher than that of females (~26.5% for males, ~9% for females). Before 2010, Saudi Arabia had no policies banning or restricting smoking.

The MOH has been awarded "Healthy City" certificates by the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) for the cities of [[Unayzah]] and [[Riyadh Al Khabra]] as 4th and 5th Healthy Cities in Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite tweet |title=#WHA72: Dr Al-Mandhari presented #HealthyCity certificates to Dr Hani Jokhadar @jokhdarh Undersecretary @SaudiMOH to award Unayzah & Riyadh Al Khabra as 4th and 5th healthy cities in The cities were qualified after successful evaluation by @WHO & external experts in March 2019. |user=whoemro |number=1131318112073203712 |publisher=World Health Organization}}</ref>
The WHO had earlier classified three Saudi Arabian cities, [[Ad Diriyah]], [[Jalajil]], and Al-Jamoom as "Healthy city", as part of the WHO Healthy Cities Programme. Recently [[Al-Baha]] has also been classified as a healthy city to join the list of global healthy cities approved by the World Health Organization.<ref>{{cite tweet |title=سمو أمير منطقة #الباحة يتسلم شهادة #المندق الصحية من معالي وزير الصحة بعد تصنيفها كمدينة صحية لتنضم إلى قائمة المدن الصحية العالمية المعتمدة من منظمة الصحة العالمية. وكانت كل من #الدرعية و #جلاجل و #الجموم و #عنيزة و #رياض_الخبراء قد أعلن عنها سابقًا كمدن صحية. |language=ar |trans-title=His Highness, the Emir of Al-Baha region, receives the Al-Mandaq health certificate from His Excellency the Minister of Health after classifying it as a healthy city to join the list of global healthy cities approved by the World Health Organization. Al-Diriyah, Jalajil, Al-Jumum, Onaizah, and Riyadh Al-Khubra were previously declared healthy cities. |user=SaudiMOH |number=1312783064595079170 |publisher=Ministry of Health}}</ref>

In May 2019, the then Saudi Minister of Health [[Tawfiq bin Fawzan AlRabiah]] received a global award on behalf of the Kingdom for combating smoking through social awareness, treatment, and application of regulations.<ref name="smokingaward">{{cite web |title=Saudi Arabia receives global anti-smoking award |url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1501311/saudi-arabia |publisher=Arab News |date=24 May 2019}}</ref> The award was presented as part of the 72nd session of the [[World Health Assembly]], held in Geneva in May 2019. After becoming one of the first nations to ratify the [[WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control]] in 2005, it plans to reduce tobacco use from 12.7% in 2017, to 5% in 2030.<ref name="smokingaward" />

Saudi Arabia has a life expectancy of 78 years (77 for males and 80 for females) according to the latest data for the year 2022 from the World Bank.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=SA&most_recent_value_desc=true|title=Life expectancy at birth, total (years) – Saudi Arabia {{!}} Data|website=data.worldbank.org|access-date=14 December 2019}}</ref> Infant mortality in 2022 was 6 per 1000 (6 for males and 5 for females).<ref name=":1" /> In 2022, 71.8% of the adult population was overweight and 40.6% was obese.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/overweight_obesity/obesity_adults/en/|title=Overweight and obesity|website=World Health Organization|access-date=25 August 2018}}</ref>

On May 18, 2025, Saudi Arabia announced the openning of the world's first AI-powered doctor clinic in Al Ahsa. The clinic was developed collaboratively by Shanghai-based Synyi AI and the local Almoosa Health Group, the clinic introduces "Dr. Hua," an AI-driven virtual physician capable of independently diagnosing and prescribing treatments. Patients via tablet, describe symptoms and undergoing diagnostic tests like cardiograms and X-rays, facilitated by human medical staff. While Dr. Hua autonomously formulates treatment plans, each is reviewed and approved by a licensed human doctor to ensure accuracy and safety.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025 |title=Inside Saudi Arabia’s AI doctor clinic: A first in global healthcare |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/inside-saudi-arabias-ai-doctor-clinic-a-first-in-global-healthcare-1.500131227}}</ref>