Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governments continue to focus on healthcare as one of the key pillars for a successful and a vibrant future economy. The healthcare market in the GCC is predicted to reach $71 billion by 2020, a 12% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) increase from 2015. Although there has been a continuous improvement in the standard of living in all GCC countries, there has also been a steady rise in lifestyle-related diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases. Furthermore, the continuum of international patient care continues to strain government budgets that are under pressure to decrease expenditures. Many patients continue to travel aboard for oncology, cardiology and pediatric specialized cases due to the lack of such specialized, quality and cost efficient care in country. Governments continue to encourage the private sector to take a role in normalizing some medical cost upward trends. To date, close to 50% of health expenditure is funded by GCC governments, although private sector investments are increasingly encouraged. With a steady population growth rate of an annualized average of 2.4%, we believe the demand on the healthcare services will only increase and the use of technology will play a pivotal role on both the provider and payer side.
We know that the latest methods of learning connect the student with the teacher, school, technology and home to provide a student-centric, comprehensive and integrated learning experience. Technology can dramatically increase the learning experience, yet schools and teachers continue to search for ways to maximize the potential of technology in education. This is particularly important as, with the introduction of tools such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), school outcomes are being compared internationally to against the best-performing systems in the world. This leads to revealing areas for future development of the educational systems in the region. Accordingly, GCC countries have continued to spend about $67 Billion on education, but there is not necessarily a strong correlation between learning outcomes on the one hand, and investment in infrastructure and provision of classroom seats on the other hand. And while we will still see a growing demand for schools, high-performing education systems prioritize the quality of the instructional environment and of teaching, rather than class sizes and the quality of the facilities provided.
Modern governments have gone beyond normative ways of achieving good governance, which are built on strategic planning of national development, monitoring implementation and providing guidance to the public and private sectors on how to use the latest technologies and modern approaches to achieve their objectives. In addition, modern governments adopt and apply the latest government trends, which include citizen empowerment strategies, e-governance and smart government approaches. This leads to change management, forward thinking, capacity building, and strategic partnerships across sectors in a unified vision of providing effective and good governance.
GCC countries have continuously progressed in international standards and their respective international rankings, and they continue their drive forward. Nadereen is well aware of the continuous requirements for such development in governments work, and is keen to provide knowledge, and to support government officials and decision-makers to effectively adopt such trends.
GCC spending on information and communication technology (ICT) in 2016 is estimated to be $213 billion, according to Gartner. Investments in ICT have been encouraged by its ubiquitous use, but also by upcoming major developments and upcoming events in the region such as Dubai Expo 2020 and Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022. For example, world class ICT infrastructure was described as a strength in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s bid to Expo 2020, and the UAE’s largest telco operator plans to roll out a 5G mobile network across the country by then. Such investments and the Internet of Things (IoTs) result in a digital mesh where all devices are smarter and interconnected, which led to an increased need of governance of ICT including cyber security capabilities. This has also cemented the GCC as a regional ICT hub, where The Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) continues to attract approximately 150,000 visitors annually from 150 countries. Accordingly, many Fortune 500 companies in the Software, Hardware, Internet Services and Information Technology Companies category have established their regional headquarters in the GCC.
