Driving the news: Saudi Arabia’s health system has logged 137 international achievements since 1 January, 2026, according to figures through 11 November. The tally includes 68 global and regional awards and medals, 49 international accreditations and memberships, and 20 international certificates.
Why it matters: The haul shows real progress in care quality, innovation and institutional excellence. It also underlines the Health Sector Transformation Program, a core pillar of Saudi Vision 2030.
Patient Experience Wins Lead the Awards
The Ministry of Health won the global Press Ganey award, which measures patient experience and rates facility performance. Moreover, its “Healthy Cities” campaign, with the slogan “Tatib Bi Ahliha,” took the best health-sector campaign title at the GovMedia Awards 2026. Meanwhile, the “Jawdat Al-Sineen” campaign (“Quality of the Years”) won gold in the communications and marketing category at the MUSE Creative Awards 2026.
Zoom in: London produced the biggest single haul. Saudi health bodies collected 36 prizes at the International Customer Experience Awards (ICXA) 2026, including 15 gold, 9 silver and 12 bronze. Two Saudi health leaders also won standalone gold awards for customer experience leadership, which lifts the London total to 38.
The competition drew entrants from more than 50 countries over nine editions, with over 400 participants. Independent international juries judged the entries. Riyadh First Health Cluster led the Saudi field with 11 awards. Separately, Saudi bodies won four awards at the Gulf customer experience awards, and Eastern Health Cluster took “Best Practice” in financial resource management at the International Best Practice Competition 2026.
Innovation Earns 20 International Honours
Saudi inventors also shone in Geneva. The Saudi pavilion showed 20 health inventions at the 51st Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, held 11 to 15 March. As a result, the sector brought home 19 medals and one special award.
The pavilion drew on the Ministry of Health, the National Institute of Health Research, the Council of Health Insurance, the Saudi Red Crescent Authority and Saudi Health Holding Company with its clusters. The Red Crescent won silver for an emergency medical services innovation, while the Council of Health Insurance took bronze. Health Holding’s clusters collected silver and 12 further medals.
Elsewhere, Health Holding won the Sterling International Collaboration award for institutional excellence. The Council of Health Insurance added a gold at the MUSE Creative Awards. In addition, the Saudi Red Crescent Authority’s team won the 2026 First Aid World Cup.
By the numbers:
- 137 international achievements from 1 January to 11 November, 2026.
- 68 awards and medals, 49 accreditations and memberships, 20 certificates.
- 36 ICXA awards in London: 15 gold, 9 silver, 12 bronze.
- 20 inventions shown in Geneva, which earned 19 medals and one special award.
- 4 national bodies now serve as WHO collaborating centers.
- 40 heart and stroke centers earned American Heart Association accreditation.
- 13 ISO certificates for the Council of Health Insurance and NUPCO.
- SAR 259 billion ($69.1 billion): the 2026 budget allocation for health and social development.
- SAR 170.6 billion ($45.5 billion): actual health and social development spending in the first half of 2026, up 10% and the largest sector by spending.
Expanding Global Partnerships and Regulatory Standards
The World Health Organization (WHO) designated four Saudi bodies as collaborating centers. They are the National Health Command and Control Center, the Public Health Authority (“Weqaya”), the Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) and the Public Health Academy.
Furthermore, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority’s reference laboratory earned ISO/IEC 17025 quality accreditation. The Global Innovation Institute accredited the “Ebsar” laboratory of the Council of Health Insurance. The National Center for Mental Health Promotion also secured the Kingdom’s exclusive licence for an international Psychological First Aid program.
The big picture: Specialist care drew strong recognition as well. The American Heart Association accredited 40 centers across the 20 health clusters under Health Holding. Twenty of them treat chest pain and heart attacks, and 20 treat strokes. Additionally, King Fahad Medical City earned both “Comprehensive Stroke Center” and “Comprehensive Chest Pain Center” status from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. Earlier this year, King Faisal Specialist Hospital also won Diamond status from the World Stroke Organization.
Global Seats and Operational Certificates
Saudi Arabia also gained influence in global standard-setting. The Kingdom won re-election as vice chair of the Codex Alimentarius Commission until 2027. Meanwhile, Lean Business Services joined the National Initiatives Forum of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH).
The 20 certificates span many fields. The Ministry of Health’s Najran branch earned three ISO certificates in artificial intelligence, occupational health and safety, and environmental management. The Council of Health Insurance and NUPCO added 13 ISO certificates. Health Holding received the Great Place to Work certification. Finally, the Saudi Red Crescent Authority earned the TMMi test maturity certificate and ISO 41001 for facility management, and its Asir branch added an ISO certificate.
What’s next: The awards sit on a deep operating base. The 2025 transformation report counted more than 803,000 health practitioners in the Kingdom and more than 35,000 physicians who graduated from Saudi Board programs. As of June 2026, the Ministry of Health’s Seha Virtual Hospital connected 242 hospitals and had served more than 597,000 beneficiaries.
Therefore, expect the momentum to continue. With more than seven weeks left in 2026, the tally will likely grow, and the Kingdom keeps widening its footprint in care, innovation, accreditation and operational excellence.
