The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) recorded a 7.6% year-on-year increase in the number of registered healthcare practitioners, bringing the total to more than 800,000. The announcement was made during the 101st meeting of the SCFHS Board of Trustees, held at the Commission’s headquarters in Riyadh and attended by representatives from the government, private, educational, and specialized sectors.
His Excellency the Minister of Health and Chairman of the SCFHS Board of Trustees, Mr. Fahad Abdulrahman AlJalajel, extended his gratitude to the wise leadership, may Allah protect it, following the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s 2026 budget and for its continued support for the healthcare sector. He highlighted the projects included in the budget, which will increase hospital bed capacity, expand specialized services, enhance the quality, efficiency, and inclusiveness of healthcare services, and improve access to care.
His Excellency also expressed his appreciation to the wise leadership for the support and attention given to the healthcare sector and for the generous royal patronage extended to the 2025 graduates of SCFHS programs. He commended the success of this year’s graduation ceremony, which celebrated more than 12,500 graduates from the Saudi Board and Health Academy programs. He also praised the efforts of SCFHS and its employees in organizing the ceremony, which was attended by more than 20,000 graduates and their families.
His Excellency welcomed the Board members and expressed his appreciation to the outgoing members for their efforts during their tenure. He also welcomed Dr. Asim bin Yahya Najmi, Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Jazan University, as a member of the SCFHS Board of Trustees representing the deans of colleges of pharmacy.
During the meeting, the Board reviewed the performance indicators report and the Commission’s key achievements for the fourth quarter of the year. These included an increase in the number of training seats available across various health specialty programs to more than 10,900, representing growth of over 17% compared with 2024. The number of healthcare practitioners registered as SCFHS members also rose to more than 800,000, reflecting a year-on-year growth rate of 7.6%.
The Board also reviewed SCFHS’s efforts in health workforce planning, including an assessment of labor market needs in nursing and among clinical assistants through 2034. These efforts also included integration with the education system by establishing standards and classifying health qualifications for scholarship pathways, as well as alignment with the National Labor Observatory to annually monitor the performance and career pathways of Saudi university graduates in health fields.
The Board further reviewed efforts supporting preparations for the 2034 FIFA World Cup and sports medicine. These efforts include increasing the supply of qualified healthcare professionals to expand the capacity of the healthcare system, developing specialized sports medicine programs, and signing several agreements with the Saudi Pro League and the Ministry of Sport’s Leaders Development Institute.
The Board congratulated SCFHS on receiving several awards and recognitions, including the “State of the Art” Award for Excellence in Performance Measurement, presented by the Global Performance Audit Unit of The KPI Institute; the Internal Audit Award in the Bronze category for the government sector; eight international awards for the Commission’s “Reviving Nations” video marking Saudi National Day and Founding Day; and an advanced ranking in the Digital Government Authority’s Digital Transformation Measurement (Qiyas), placing SCFHS among the top 25% of 229 government entities.
The Board concluded its meeting by commending the achievements of the previous period and reaffirming its full support for achieving the objectives of the next phase.