Baby boom in Oman as economy grows

review, what lay ahead for the aluminium industry, the challenges and solutions of warehousing, prospects for gas in the Arabian Gulf, the Middle East and its implications on the aluminium industry, what challenges lie ahead for Gulf nations as they fight for their share in the global aluminium market and sustainable waste management in the aluminium sector.

In addition, ARABAL delegates were also shown Sohar Aluminium’s new state-of-the-art smelter in the South Batinah governorate.

Said Al Masoudi, CEO of Sohar Aluminium, said: “The importance of gathering in Muscat to discuss key trends and forecasts in one of the world’s faster growing markets is clear. Members of ARABAL account for 10% of the world’s total annual output, across the world, excluding China. The Middle East has also posted the secondhighest year-on-year demand growth worldwide during the first quarter of this year at approximately six percent.

“Whether forecasts that the size of the global aluminium market will double within the next 10 years is realised relies on several factors, emerging market trends, innovation, and tariff systems to name a few,” he added. “But amidst great change lies great opportunity. ARABAL members and the wider market must seize upon existing potential to enhance operational efficiency, human capital and technological expertise. These are the cornerstones of sustainable growth.”

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Massive economic expansion plans and the move away from oil have led to a huge increase in the annual birth rate in some areas of Oman, according to a senior Ministry of Health official.

In just a few years, the birth rate in Sohar, for example, shot up from around 4,000 a year to almost 10,000 a year, as more job opportunities meant men were staying at home rather than leaving in search of work.

Dr Mazin Al Khabouri, Director-General of Private Health Establishments at the Ministry of Health, said the government was taking steps to address the baby boom, and that even where there were only 300 people in a remote Omani village, their health needs would be fully addressed.

The Sultanate’s residents and citizens would always be provided the best and most affordable healthcare facilities, he said.

As Oman’s key towns of Sohar and Duqm geared up to power the Sultanate’s ambitious future policies, the Ministry of Health was ensuring that the healthcare received by thousands of energetic and enthusiastic Omanis and expats did not lag behind.

“The port city of Sohar is booming and the birth-rate has gone sky-high,” said Al Khabouri. “This rate has gone up over the last few years, and we have noticed it since Sohar port came up,” he said.

“When the Ministry of Health discusses its five-year plans, we all meet and take into consideration various factors, including population expansion and population migration, and then we decide where you need a hospital or where you need a health delivery facility. Our plans are currently on target.”

Both the Port of Sohar and Port of Duqm will play a key role in Oman’s non-oil future. The Tanfeedh plans for economic diversification will result in the expansion of the tourism, logistics, transport, mining, energy, agriculture and fisheries sectors; the knock-on effect will be tens of thousands of jobs for Oman’s next generation of able professionals.

“Duqm is an up-and-coming hub, and there were plans to build a health facility there, but I advised the people in charge to not build a maternity facility, because a large percentage of the population there is male and healthy,” added Al Khabouri. “What happens to healthy males? They may have accidents and injuries at construction sites, so there is a need for a trauma centre. There are no children, so there is no need for a paediatric centre,” he pointed out.

“Have a GP who can take care of them, because someone might bring their kids along, but the vast majority of them will be healthy males and females. In the future, if the infrastructure develops, you can develop further facilities.”

“The government is on track towards bringing health facilities online wherever need be, but private health establishments go wherever the business is, which is why most of them are concentrated in Muscat, where the money is,” explained Al Khabouri.

“We do encourage them to go to other places, but we need to assure them that they will get business. We need to share with them statistics in terms of what is lacking.”

Providing healthcare to several of Oman’s far-flung settlements, many of which are hours away from the cities, is also a commitment the government does not shy away from, according to Al Khabouri.

“If you look at European standards, they say you must have a health centre for every 10,000 people, but you go to places that are so remote that the nearest doctor is three hours away, and even if you are 300 people there, we build a health centre,” he said.

“We look at what is required there, and you will find that in remote areas, we have a full-fledged health centre with doctors and nurses working, as well as laboratories and dispensaries, so this is amazing.”

“A hospital bed is not just a bed because you have nurses working in three shifts, so if your ratio is five beds per nurse, these beds will employ three nurses because there are three shifts,” added Al Khabouri. “You look at the cleaning and other ancillary services, and this is a huge cost, so to put a bed, even for governments, is expensive, because 70% of our expenses go towards manpower.”

He added that the onus of caring for people would always lie with the government sector.

“It’s a case of demand and supply,” explained Al Khabouri. “A majority of the people going to the private sector are Omanis, but when they see the bills going up, then they decide to go to the government sector, which is excellent. There are no worries about bills. If you want a private room, it’s about OMR25, but in a private hospital, that could cost you about OMR150 to OMR200 a day.”

According to data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), Oman’s population, while on the rise, does have a larger proportion of youth. The Sultanate’s population of people aged 39 and under rose from about 2.25 million in 2007 to just about 3.5 million by the end of 2017.

The number of people between the ages of 25 and 29 rose from 334,965 to 727,009, while those between the ages of 30 and 34 went up from 287,722 to 682,507. In addition, the number of people between the ages of 35 and 39 increased from 218,460 to 499,408.