IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

The healthcare industry worldwide needs a shot in the arm. Rising rates of chronic diseases require more complex healthcare services; ageing populations demand services for longer periods of time; medical technologies are becoming more sophisticated and more widely available, but also much more expensive.

As a result, healthcare systems must offer more complex care to more demanding and informed patients, at higher levels of quality, while also trying to control costs.

This is particularly true in the GCC, where many countries suffer from high rates of chronic lifestyle diseases, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular ailments. GCC residents still seek treatment abroad. In the UAE alone, this cost the Government US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn) in 2007. GCC countries are focused on improving the provision of health care and this was one of the highest areas of government spending last year.

Read more: GCC countries: Time for health care to move to the next level

Information communication and technology (ICT) leaders in the Gulf region should develop focused strategies to support environment and readiness factors and generate comprehensive work plans to strengthen the ICT environment, according to a study.

The GCC governments still face key challenges as they strive to increase ICT adoption and effectiveness — a problem rooted in the lack of key enabling resources, inadequate infrastructure, and, at times, transient funding and oversight, said a new study by Booz and Company.

The environment dimension involves the conduciveness of the regulatory and ICT environments to delivering e-government services, while the readiness dimension focuses on governments’ ability to capitalise on opportunities created by an e-government programme, particularly in terms of common or shared resources or platforms.

Read more: ICT leaders in GCC ‘should put more focus on strategy’

ICDL GCC Foundation, the governing body and the certification authority of the International Computer Driving License program in GCC and Iraq, called on more participation from the private and semi-government businesses to support further digital awareness among all sectors of society through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. Everyone is ultimately a stakeholder from a digitally literate society, as it will facilitate to consumers the reach to more products and services available online, and extends to governments and businesses increased online transactions at significant operational cost savings.

The Foundation is involved in many projects that reflect its mission of further developing a digital society; among these projects is the recently launched ICDL summer camp 2010 with the support of the governments, universities, and a few from the private sector. This program has helped more than 10,000 youngsters from across the Gulf region to become IT skilled and it is considered an initial step to create a safe and efficient IT literate youth.

Read more: GCC region: Campaign to wipe out computer illiteracy

The GCC governments are facing key challenges as they strive to increase ICT adoption and effectiveness, a problem rooted in the lack of key enabling resources, inadequate infrastructure, and, at times, transient funding and oversight, according to a new study by Booz & Company.

In recent years, governments in the GCC have invested significantly to modernise the ways in which they deliver government services to their citizens. To successfully implement such initiatives, they have taken steps to improve their information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, a critical element of knowledge-based economies and sustainable growth.

A number of regional governments have gone further and formalised large-scale collaborative egovernment transformation programmes, with marked success.

Read more: GCC faces tough challenges in building ICT capabilities