Only 2,2% of national income spent on health care system in 2011

Kuwait spends 2.2 % income on health

KUWAIT:  Kuwait’s spending on the health sector increased by 86 percent during the period between 2005 and 2010. However, it totaled to only 2.2 percent of national income, stated a recent report prepared by the Skills Consulting and Public Relations Company. This was held  in cooperation with experts in local health and development fields. The report published by Annahar daily yesterday states that the government spent KD 877 million on the health sector in 2010, while it only spent KD 470 million in 2005. The report, however, indicates that the quality of medical services provided during that period increased between five and 25 percent, according to studies held by Ministry of Health(MoH) statistics, reported  Annahar.

In other news, Minister of Health and Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali has altered the pharmacy licensing law,  according to which, a pharmacist must complete a minimum five years in the field after graduation before obtaining a license to open a private pharmacy, reported  Al-Rai.
Source: Kuwait Times

Reforms of health care system in Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 4: Plans are under way to set up an independent national health authority in Kuwait which will steer efforts to transform healthcare in the country, according to the Assistant Undersecretary for Planning and Quality in the Ministry of Health. Waleed Kh. Al-Falah told the global publishing, research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG) that the Kuwait Health Authority will play a key role in overseeing major reforms earmarked for healthcare while also taking over some administrative functions from the Ministry. “We aim to develop a comprehensive health system in line with global trends,” he said. “Attention to health promotion and focusing on improving primary health care as a first point of entrance to the system is the most in-demand effective priority in the country.”

The move forms part of Kuwait’s broader plan to upgrade the quality of healthcare under the National Development Plan. It is also expected to bolster the country’s efforts to encourage public, private partnerships for health services expansion which include modernising existing facilities and building new hospitals and health centres. The interview forms part of the research for The Report: Kuwait 2012, OBG’s forthcoming guide on the State’s economic activity and investment opportunities. The Group’s latest report will include a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for foreign investors, together with a wide range of interviews with the most prominent political, economic and business leaders.

Al-Falah highlighted the Ministry’s success in increasing the number of Kuwaiti doctors working in the country, adding that plans were under way to drive forward a similar initiative in the nursing profession. “At present, there is a concentrated effort to increase the percentage of the national nursing workforce,” he said. “Incentives and opportunities are being introduced offering higher training and post graduate degrees in Western countries which are well known for their excellent training in the field of nursing.” He acknowledged that Kuwait could prove to be fertile territory for health tourism which was expanding rapidly on a global level, but said legal reforms would be needed before the country could begin exploring its potential. “Kuwait has great potential for attracting patients from neighbouring countries,” he said. “At present, however, the public sector cannot sell its services to individuals or private corporations. A review of current legislations would be needed to allow this.”

The Report: Kuwait 2012 will mark the culmination of more than nine months of on-the-ground research by a team of analysts from OBG. It will provide information on opportunities for foreign direct investment into the country’s economy and will act as a guide to the many facets of the country including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and sectoral developments. The Report: Kuwait 2012 will be available in print form or online. Oxford Business Group (OBG) is a global publishing, research and consultancy firm, which publishes economic intelligence on the markets of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America Through its range of print and online products, OBG offers comprehensive and accurate analysis of macroeconomic and sectoral developments, including banking, capital markets, insurance, energy, transport, industry and telecoms.

The Report: Kuwait 2012 is produced in partnership with the Kuwait Foreign Investment Bureau, KAMCO, ASAR and Moore Stephens. The critically acclaimed economic and business reports have become the leading source of business intelligence on developing countries in the regions they cover. OBG’s online economic briefings provide up-to-date in-depth analysis on the issues that matter for tens of thousands of subscribers worldwide. OBG’s consultancy arm offers tailor-made market intelligence and advice to firms currently operating in these markets and those looking to enter them.
Source: Arab Times

Proposal To Build 3 Hospitals For Expats Residing In Kuwait Govt To Present New Health Insurance Draft

Source: Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 10: The government will soon present a new health insurance draft bill to improve medical services in the country, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily quoting informed sources.

Sources disclosed the government will submit the bill to the National Assembly in the next legislative round for review and approval. Sources explained the proposal is aimed at regulating treatment procedures in private hospitals abroad or in Kuwait. Sources said the government will pay installments of the proposed health insurance through the establishment of joint stock companies, in which 50 percent of the shares will be offered to the citizens and the remaining portion to specialized local and foreign corporations. Sources added the joint stock companies will construct hospitals, hire medical experts and purchase the necessary equipment to better serve the citizens.

Sources confirmed the proposal includes a social insurance scheme for expatriates, in addition to the construction of three hospitals exclusive for foreigners residing in Kuwait. Sources said these hospitals will be established in Jahra, Farwaniya and Ahmadi. Sources clarified the bill also states that the existing public hospitals will serve only the Kuwaitis and citizens of other Gulf countries upon completion of the hospitals for expatriates.

Water births come to UAE (Khaleej Times)

Source: Khaleej Times

Olivia Olarte

26 July 2011, 10:46 PM

An age-old birthing practice that is proven to reduce pain but a novel concept in the Arab 
world is coming to the UAE and is aining interest from women across the emirates.

The water birth method will be operational in the region for the first time in the Al Ain 
Cromwell Women and Children Hospital in Al Ain next month when the hospital opens
up its in-patient services.

According to Sandi Blankenship, head midwife at the hospital, water birth is very
popular in the UK and the US, and it is common for hospitals with the facility to offer
it for women to labour into if not to deliver.

“Typically between 50-70 per cent of women in the US would choose to at least
labour in the water,” said Blankenship, who have attended around 700 water births.

Citing its advantages, Blankenship said labouring in water can shorten the length of 

labour and reduces the pain between 60–70 per cent, due to the warm water 

temperature (between 35 degree Celsius and 37.5 degree Celsius) which has a

soothing  effect.

“Because they are in a warm safe environment, they have less fear, and when you have

less fear you have less pain,” she explained. In the water birth tub, the woman also has 

the opportunity to float and she can be in any position she’s comfortable in to labour

and deliver.

“It’s really about the woman’s comfort level. You want the baby to come out in an

 environment he/she used to be in, by coming out into water,” said Blankenship.

Water birth comes to UAE

Source: Arab News 

By AISHA AL HAJJAR, LIFE.STYLE@ARABNEWS.COM

Published: Jul 6, 2011 09:10 Updated: Jul 6, 2011 09:10

Natural birth enthusiasts are all abuzz about the opening of a new hospital in Al-Ain that will offer birth in a specialized tub. Water births were first introduced in the 1960s and gained significant popularity by the 1990s. At first they were mainly used in the home birth setting, but they are now offered as a choice in many Western hospitals as well.

Dayle had a water birth at home in the US with her second child: “The water was warm and soothing.  The warmth of the birth pool cut the pain of my contractions in half!”

Gertrude had a water birth in Germany with her first child and says, “The best thing was the warm, light feeling inside the water during the expulsion phase, water birth is great!”

Al-Ain Cromwell Women and Children Hospital’s birthing floor should be open next month and has three large birthing rooms, including one with a squatting stool and the first water birth pool in the region!  This is exciting news for the women of Al-Ain and a ray of hope for other areas of the Middle East (including Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and others) where natural-birth advocates are clamoring for more supportive birthing facilities.

“I’m most excited about their implementation of a midwifery model of care in which women are listened to as individuals and pregnancy is seen as a normal life event,” said Tami Stroud, a professional birth companion. “I have great hope for them. So many women just want a normal, safe, low intervention, natural childbirth and I think Al-Ain Cromwell Women and Children Hospital can deliver that.”

The maternity unit at the new hospital is led by American Midwife, Sandi Blankenship, a water birth expert. 

“In a good hospital, 50 to 60 percent of mothers should be delivered by a midwife,” Blankenship says. In her private midwifery practice in the States she attended over 700 water births. She explains: “It’s important to follow a set protocol to determine which patients are allowed to use the water tub for birth. There also must be standard procedures for handling any complications while birthing in the water.”

Mothers Deserve Options

Huffington Post`s Ricki Lake  is asking questions about birthing culture in USA

I made my 2008 documentary The Business of Being Born to educate women about choices in childbirth, and raise questions about maternity care in the U.S. For example, why were C-section rates skyrocketing? Why were options such as birth centers and home birth disappearing? And why does a country supposedly committed to health care reform seem opposed to safe, cost-effective options that include midwifery and well-woman care?

The impact of the documentary was monumental. The blogosphere blew up (I can handle a few people yelling at me if it means my message is being heard!) Every day women stop me on the street to share stories of their safe, successful, meaningful births. Many say they felt "in the dark" about their options until seeing The Business of Being Born. But unfortunately, due to the highly medicalized climate of hospital births and the financial interests of insurance and drug companies, our birth options are disappearing at an alarming rate. It's seems that the more we know, the fewer choices we have. In the last five years, New York City alone has witnessed the shuttering of its only freestanding birth center, two hospital-based birth centers, a popular childbirth education center and a major hospital that offered privileges to a large number of hospital midwifery practices and home birth midwives. This has left many parents-to-be struggling to find birth options outside of the traditional OB/GYN approach.

Home birth is on the rise. But is it safe? (US Consumer Report)

Source: Consumer Report US , May 26, 2011.

Less than one percent of babies in the U.S. are born at home. But after years of decline, home births are on the rise. Between 2004 and 2008, the rate of home births increased by 20 percent, according to a study published online May 20 in the journal Birth. Why? Maybe alienation with hospital care—where around a third of babies were delivered by Cesarean section in 2007—has some women wanting more control over what they consider a normal, natural experience. They want, in a sense, to stay home to stay safe. But are they right? Is home birth safe?

While the question is a polarizing one, at least in this country, several professional organizations say it can be for low-risk pregnancies if necessary precautions are taken. That includes the World Health Organization, the American Public Health Association, the National Perinatal Association, and the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

State of World`s Midwifery

UNFPA just published State of World`s Midwifery. Midwives are primary health care providers providing care for low-risk women during pregnancy, labour, after delivery, including the care for babies.

Increasing women's access to quality midwifery has become a focus of global efforts to realize the right of every woman to the best possible health care during pregnancy and childbirth. A first step is assessing the situation.

The State of World's Midwifery 2011: Delivering Health, Saving Lives, supported by 30 partners, provides the first comprehensive analysis of midwifery services and issues in countries where the needs are greatest.

The report provides new information and data gathered from 58 countries in all regions of the world. Its analysis confirms that the world lacks some 350,000 skilled midwives -- 112,000 in the neediest 38 countries surveyed -- to fully meet the needs of women around the world. The report explores a range of issues related to building up this key health workforce.

This page includes access to the full report in three languages, as well as related resources, applications, bibliographical information, individual country profiles and stories of midwives.

10 Celebrity Home Births

10 celebrities opened about their homebirth for Celebritybabyscoop, including Jeniffer Conelly, my favourite actress, who recently had had 3rd baby. Read what they say about homebirth!

As home births become increasingly popular, more and more celebrity moms are opting to have their babies in the comforts of their own home.

From the arrival of Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany's newest addition, daughter Agnes Lark, born via home birth, to Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady's son Benjamin born at their home in December 2009, to Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof's now 2-year-old daughter Satyana born at home, the celebs are joining the trend!

REFORMS IN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN KUWAIT

I am excited to hear about following project published in Arab Times 16/4/2011

 

" Kuwait launches largest health development firm Private sector to play vital role in operation

KUWAIT CITY, March 9: Kuwait recently inaugurated a comprehensive health development company — the first of its kind in the country — with a capital of KD318 million, reports Al-Seyassah daily quoting sources.
Sources revealed the government will distribute 50 percent of the company’s shares to the citizens through public subscription free of charge, 26 percent for Kuwaiti companies and 24 percent for the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA).

Sources added the company will build the largest health insurance and medical services hospital in the Middle East to provide a wide array of medical services to citizens and expatriates.

Sources confirmed Deputy Premier for Economic Affairs and State Minister for Housing and Development Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah launched the company on Monday in the presence of Health Minister Dr Hilal Al-Sayer, Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shemali, the company’s Founding Committee Chairperson Mohammad Al-Munaifi and Health Ministry Undersecretary Dr Ibrahim Al-Abdulhadi.