In a small island such as Bahrain, with a total population of around 1.5 million, one would think that social services including healthcare delivery has always been well taken care of.
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Throughout history, Bahrain has managed to provide universal healthcare dating back to as early as 1960s. By this standard, government-provided health care has always been free to Bahraini citizens and heavily subsidised for non-Bahrainis. As such, the quality of health care in Bahrain is generally high and equal to that in Western Europe and the USA, except for highly specialised treatment.
Bahrain PM Recognized with Global Leader Healthcare Award
Because of such standards, Bahraini Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has been recognized by the World Health Organization for his leadership in advancing global healthcare, as shared in a report by Arabian Business.
Prince Khalifa was awarded the first-ever WHO Director-General’s Health Leaders Honour by the health organisation’s leader Dr. Tedros Adhanom.
The award has been given to the Bahraini leader for his commitment to creating access to affordable healthcare for the kingdom’s citizens.
His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the #Bahrain ?? received WHO Director-General’s Health Leaders recognition to celebrate his outstanding political leadership in advancing health #WHA72
Watch live ? https://t.co/0Xn6WUxkeO pic.twitter.com/jnFkHMP9lD
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 20, 2019
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Healthcare in Bahrain
The Kingdom of Bahrain, for the longest time, has taken steps to provide nationals with free and heavily subsidised healthcare. Expats can also access this service, but will tend to receive subsidised services requiring a small co-payment.
Despite the country’s rapid development, Bahrain’s relatively small population means that long queues or delayed appointment times are uncommon, even in public healthcare facilities.
And while expats have access to the public system in Bahrain, many opt to get private medical insurance and to use private facilities instead of public ones. Expats will also find that the standard of care throughout the country is excellent as a large portion of healthcare workers come from the expat community, as well – however, it is important to be aware that specialist treatment centres may be limited and it may be necessary to seek such treatment outside of the country.
Overall, Bahrain as a country is continuously evolving, and with the current number of expats residing in the Kingdom, changes regarding healthcare costs, delivery, and accessibility, are expected to improve still.
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