This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.

Overview

Under Kuwait’s USD 104 billion National Development Plan, major upgrades to the country’s healthcare infrastructure and facilities are underway. Kuwaitis suffer from high rates of obesity, diabetes, and cancer. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, Kuwait is the fourth-most obese country in the world. Although the population is young, the disease burden is a health and financial concern. 
 
Kuwait’s public healthcare sector accounts for more than 80% of the healthcare spending in country. Currently, Kuwait’s Ministry of Health is the owner, operator, regulator, and financer of the vast majority of healthcare services rendered, pharmaceuticals purchased, and medical equipment acquired in the country. The government operates 15 general and specialized hospitals. The private sector is expected to grow moderately in the coming years, with private firms estimated to account for 15-20% of healthcare spending.
 
Kuwait aspires to create world-class healthcare providers as well as to improve the quality of healthcare in treatment centers, such as the Kuwait Cancer Center, the Kuwait Chest Disease Hospital, the Kuwait Radiology Center, the Ibn-Sina Center for Ophthalmology, and the Dasman Research Center for Diabetes.
 
The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Works announced a USD 4.42 billion (KD 1.250 billion) project to replace or expand nine operating hospitals (five general hospitals and four specialized hospitals) within the next ten years. The goal is to add 5,400 beds, 150 operating rooms, and 500 outpatient clinics to the current 7,095 hospital beds countrywide. In addition, the USD 1.1 billion (KD 304 million) Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah Hospital, which is expected to be inaugurated in the coming months, will add another 1,200 beds. Currently, Kuwait has two hospital beds per 1,000 people. This represents a stark undersupply in the face of population growth and the rising disease burden.
 
The country has a well-established primary care network (polyclinics), which provides for a local clinic in every residential district of Kuwait. Nineteen new government polyclinics are projected to open in the next two years.
 
According to the Ministry of Health, the private sector will be instrumental in the overall development of the medical sector. The private healthcare market is estimated to grow by 15-20% in the coming years. Currently, a total of 12 private hospitals (totaling 1,038 hospital beds) provide private medical services in Kuwait. Several new private hospitals are expected to open in the next few years, adding 1,800 hospital beds. Although the government offers free healthcare services, patients are willing to pay a premium for private treatment in order to reduce waiting times and treatment schedules. In certain fields, such as obstetrics and gynecology, local patients pay a premium for high-end services offered by private hospitals.
 
The healthcare sector is witnessing some reform initiatives. One of the reforms includes broadening public-private partnerships and giving the private sector a larger role in the provision of healthcare services. Recently, public healthcare centers began referring patients to private medical care providers for services like IVF treatment and physiotherapy.
 
Such soaring healthcare spending reflects the government’s priority to improve the quality of life for both citizens and expatriates and to treat more Kuwaiti patients in-country.
 

Best Prospects/Services

  • Medical-dental-lab equipment
  • General hospital supplies
  • Pharmaceutical products and specialized systems and applications 
  • Laser-treatment, nanotechnology and molecular medicine 
  • Laboratory testing, testing equipment, and disposable tests 
  • Surgical instruments, diagnostic or laboratory equipment in the fields of orthopedics, trauma care, ophthalmology, cardiology, oncology, radiology or radiotherapy, and healthcare information
 

Opportunities

Opportunities for U.S. companies include a broad range of healthcare-oriented products and services, including medical equipment; hospital supplies, products, and services; and specialized applications. Quality control is now being enforced at an increased level. It is estimated that 15,000 healthcare professionals will be needed in the public sector alone in the coming years.
 
Interested companies should be prepared and have completed the regulatory formalities in order to pursue business opportunities once they are announced.
 

Web Resources

For additional information on medical and surgical equipment, please contact Commercial Specialist Yousif Almahdi at Yousif.Almahdi@trade.gov.
 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.