Wednesday 22 / April / 2026
Muscat: The Shura Council will host on Sunday and Monday, 26 and 27 April, Dr. Hilal Ali Al Sabti, Minister of Health, who will deliver the Ministry’s statement before the members of the Council during the sixteenth and seventeenth regular sittings of the third annual session (2025–2026) of the tenth term (2023–2027).
The statement forms part of the ministerial statements approved for the current session and will focus on the performance of the health sector and the evaluation of its policies and executive programmes.
This was stated by Ahmed Mohammed Al Nadabi, Secretary-General of the Shura Council, who indicated that the ministerial statement comprises six main pillars.
He explained that the first pillar addresses the Ministry’s projects under the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), including methodologies for evaluating institutional performance, quantitative, qualitative, and benchmarking measurement tools, performance indicators related to strategic projects and programmes, as well as an analysis of operational challenges and lessons learned, and their impact on strengthening the public health system.
He added that the second pillar reviews the Ministry’s projects and programmes under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), including mechanisms for determining national health priorities, strategic programmes with direct impact on health indicators, plans to expand disease prevention programmes, and enhancing integration between preventive and curative healthcare services.
The third pillar focuses on the quality of healthcare services through evaluating the efficiency of regulatory systems governing public and private health institutions, the effectiveness of medical governance, and the development of systems for addressing medical errors.
It also includes initiatives aimed at reducing waiting times, improving diagnostic and treatment services, and ensuring the safety and security of medicines.
He further stated that the fourth pillar addresses health crisis management through reviewing legislative and regulatory frameworks related to crises, developing early warning systems and health risk forecasting, enhancing pharmaceutical security, localising vital industries, as well as mechanisms for procuring and supplying medicines and medical equipment, and strengthening integration with relevant sectors to mitigate health risk factors.
He also noted that the fifth pillar outlines future directions for the health system, including expanding decentralisation of specialised services, implementing the unified electronic health record project, enhancing the use of artificial intelligence in diagnosis and data management, integrating digital health systems, and plans for qualifying and employing national medical personnel, in addition to developing systems for analysing and testing pharmaceutical products.
Regarding the sixth pillar, he indicated that it addresses financing and investment in the health sector through reviewing sustainable financing alternatives, developing the social health insurance model, enhancing investment in the sector, and improving spending efficiency to ensure the long-term sustainability of the health system.
The Secretary-General affirmed that discussing the Ministry of Health’s statement comes within the framework of strengthening the Council’s legislative roles, assessing the implementation of national plans, and measuring the impact of health policies on quality of life, in a manner that supports the objectives of Oman Vision 2040 and reinforces the efficiency and sustainability of the health sector in the Sultanate of Oman.
