Healthcare in the Middle East is entering a new phase of transformation. After a decade of expansion and infrastructure build-out, the focus is shifting to system integration, digital acceleration and resilience. AI is moving beyond isolated pilots and experimental use cases into core healthcare delivery, spanning diagnostics, operations, and strategic decision-making as value increasingly flows across a more interconnected healthcare ecosystem.
The Health Industries findings of PwC’s 29th Global CEO survey have indicated that confidence among CEOs in this sector remains strong. Capital continues to flow into the sector, but complexity is rising. Skills shortages, cyber risks and geopolitical uncertainties are emerging as structural constraints, alongside growing scrutiny of responsible use of AI. The next phase of growth will be defined by where AI delivers the most meaningful clinical impact, how organisations attract and retain the right talent and how operating models are restructured to unlock new sources of value.
"The momentum behind healthcare transformation in the Middle East continues, but the nature of the challenge is changing. This year’s survey shows health CEOs remain confident and well capitalised, with AI increasingly embedded beyond pilots and into care delivery. At the same time, leaders are navigating tighter talent markets, rising cyber and data exposure, and growing expectations around responsible AI use as healthcare systems become more complex and interconnected."
Key findings for the region
% of Middle East health industry CEOs are very or extremely confident in revenue growth over the next 12 months, rising to % over the next three years
% of Middle East health industry CEOs view innovation as critical% of Middle East health organisations have expanded into new sectors or industries in the past five years, nearly double the global level
% of Middle East Health Industries CEOs identify availability of key skills as a leading threat over the next 12 months, with an equal proportion citing cyber risks.
Confidence and capital power healthcare expansion
84% of Middle East Health Industries CEOs expect economic growth in their territories to improve, compared with 60% of their global counterparts, a confidence gap of more than 20 percentage points. This optimism has also strengthened year on year, rising from 77% last year, reflecting sustained and growing conviction in the region’s healthcare outlook.
In the Middle East, the health sector has grown significantly, supported by sustained government investment and infrastructure development. At the same time, rapid digitalisation, greater adoption of data and analytics, more empowered consumers and a stronger focus on proactive wellness policies and preventative care have reshaped the healthcare landscape.
Across the GCC, more than 160 healthcare projects worth approximately US$53.2bn are underway, spanning hospitals, specialty centres and supporting infrastructure.1 By the end of 2024, the number of hospitals reached 882, an increase of 176 over the past decade, reflecting both public and private capital deployment.2
Figure 1: What do you believe economic growth (i.e. gross domestic product) will be over the next 12 months in your territory?
Against this backdrop, Health Industries CEOs are understandably optimistic about medium-term growth prospects, with 61% saying they are ‘very’ and ‘extremely confident’, rising to 71% over the next three years. This significantly exceeds the global three-year average of 53% and marks a 17-percentage-point increase compared with last year’s regional outlook.
Figure 2: How confident are you about your company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months / over the next three years?
With GCC healthcare spending projected to reach US$159bn by 2029,3 Middle East Health Industries CEOs identify strong potential in intra-regional investment, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerging as the most preferred destinations. These economies are accelerating large-scale healthcare transformation programmes, expanding infrastructure, scaling investment and embedding advanced technologies to modernise service delivery. National strategies are driving higher healthcare spending, deeper digital integration, stronger research and innovation ecosystems, and growing ambitions in medical tourism.
Scaling innovation and AI across the health enterprise
Enhanced patient empowerment and experience models now form a key pillar of the region’s broader innovation agenda in healthcare. While AI plays a significant role, supporting clinical decision-making, operational efficiency and advanced analytics, innovation in the region extends to areas of patient empowerment through wearables and digital engagement tools. Reflecting this broader focus, 66% of regional CEOs view innovation as critical to their organisation’s success, compared with 56% globally, indicating the ongoing transformation across clinical, operational and patient-facing workflows in the region
61% of Middle East Health Industries CEOs say they work with external partners, including suppliers, start-ups and universities, to advance innovation, compared with just 37% globally. By contrast, only 26% report having a defined innovation centre or incubator, indicating that a more ecosystem-led approach to advancing AI and digital capabilities in the region.
The UAE is accelerating AI adoption across healthcare, with practical deployment already underway. The Dubai Health Authority’s EJADA system supports pre-emptive disease prevention, while healthcare company M42’s Med42 (a clinical large language model) is designed to deliver high-quality responses to both short- and long-form medical queries.4
In Saudi Arabia, governance frameworks are evolving alongside innovation. The Saudi Data and AI Authority has introduced AI Ethics Principles to promote responsible adoption, while the Saudi Food and Drug Authority has issued guidance regulating AI- and ML-based medical devices. Meanwhile, Qatar is advancing through system-wide integration. The TASMU Smart Qatar Program is driving the creation of a secure, unified digital health ecosystem, anchored by a centralised electronic health record (EHR) system.
These enabling government initiatives, bringing together clear policy direction, robust regulatory oversight and digital infrastructure investment, are creating the confidence for healthcare leaders to embrace AI at scale. This could be likely why Middle East Health Industries CEOs report higher levels of AI deployment than global averages in demand generation (32%) and support services (29%), as well as in demand fulfilment in areas such as supply chain, manufacturing and logistics (26%), and in products and patient experiences (24%). The next competitive advantage will come from deeper clinical integration, embedding AI into diagnostics, care pathways and population health management, while maintaining strong governance, patient trust and regulatory alignment (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: To what extent has AI been applied in the following areas of your business?
Survey findings also indicate that despite a supportive operating environment - with 84% of Health Industries CEOs citing a technology environment that enables AI integration and 78% pointing to a culture that supports adoption (see Figure 4) - only 51% of Middle East health organisations say they can attract high-quality, technical AI talent, the lowest figure across all industries in the Middle East CEO Survey. A similar proportion indicated difficulties in attracting and retaining talent in healthcare more widely.
Figure 4: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements relating to AI use at your company? (SUMMARY NET: Agree)
Dealmaking maintains strong momentum with new sectors in focus
Middle East Health Industries CEOs are actively reinventing their businesses as healthcare value shifts beyond traditional care delivery models. This transformation is reflected in a stronger appetite for mergers and acquisitions compared with global peers, alongside a clear willingness to reposition portfolios as care delivery, technology and financing models increasingly converge.
Looking ahead, 71% of regional Health Industries CEOs plan to undertake at least one major acquisition, worth more than 10% of their company’s assets, over the next three years, marking an increase from last year.
Despite global pressure on capital costs, the Middle East’s healthcare and life sciences sector maintained strong momentum in 2025, recording 41 transactions — an increase of approximately 32% compared with 2024. Sustained investment in medical infrastructure, expanding clinical capacity and the accelerated adoption of digital health solutions helped underpin a resilient and stable deal environment, reinforcing investor confidence in the sector’s long-term growth trajectory.5
Over the past five years, 63% of Health Industries CEOs have entered new sectors or industries, compared with 38% globally. Rather than pursuing incremental growth, they are accelerating cross-sector strategies, using partnerships and acquisitions to access new capabilities, digital technologies and emerging sources of value across the healthcare ecosystem.
Moving into the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector dominate these growth plans, with 53% of Middle East Health Industries CEOs targeting this industry over the next three years, nearly three times the global average (18%). Consumer Markets (34% versus 14%) and Financial services (29% versus 17% globally) also feature strongly (see Figure 5), reflecting deeper convergence between care delivery, data, consumer engagement and financial risk management and insurance.
In the Middle East, consumer-driven trends – including wearable technology, digital health platforms, AI-enabled monitoring and the growing use of GLP-1 therapies – are reshaping traditional care models, shifting healthcare toward prevention, personalisation and continuous engagement. At the same time, payment reforms in the region are enhancing cost transparency and strengthening regulatory oversight within the mandatory health insurance system. These reforms are likely to accelerate value-based care, increase accountability for providers and insurers, and place greater emphasis on cost control and patient outcomes, improving the long-term sustainability of the region’s health financing model.
Figure 5: In which of the following industries (if any), outside of your own, will you seek to grow your business (including partnering with others to do so) over the next three years?
Risks, resilience and strategic capabilities
The leading threats identified by Middle East Health Industries CEOs over the next 12 months are availability of key skills (34%), cyber risks (34%) and geopolitical conflict (29%) (see Figure 6).
Concern around skills shortages has increased from 27% last year, pointing to the mounting pressure to secure digital, AI and specialised clinical talent as transformation accelerates. Across the GCC, talent is a key priority for Health Industries leaders. Governments are combining localisation, upskilling and international partnerships to close critical workforce gaps. In Saudi Arabia, initiatives to strengthen competencies in healthcare professions are underway as part of the Kingdom’s second phase of the Saudisation plan. Effective from October 2025, the policy mandates the employment of local talent across key specialties, with localisation targets reaching 80% in physiotherapy and therapeutic nutrition, 70% in medical laboratories, and 65% in radiology.6
Partnerships with leading international institutions are also strengthening specialist pipelines in the region and embedding advanced clinical training locally. In the UAE, for example, the partnership between the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital marks a major milestone in advancing clinical services, research, and medical training to strengthen capabilities in advanced paediatric medicine and healthcare.7
Cyber risk remains persistently high and broadly unchanged year on year (33% last year), reflecting heightened exposure as healthcare systems digitise. Geopolitical risk, while still material, has moderated slightly from 37% last year, indicating a partial recalibration of immediate regional concerns.
Figure 6: How exposed do you believe your company will be to the following key threats in the next 12 months (Highly or extremely exposed)
Beyond immediate risks, the ability to keep pace with transformation has emerged as the foremost concern for Middle East Health Industries CEOs. Geopolitical uncertainty heightened cyber exposure and supply chain disruption are also further increasing pressure on businesses to sustain continuity, trust and performance at scale. Given the sector’s growing data exposure and digital vulnerabilities, 68% of Health Industries CEOs plan to strengthen enterprise-wide cybersecurity over the next three years. Nearly 40% expect to reconfigure supply chains and access to critical supplies, reflected in recent initiatives by authorities in Saudi Arabia to shifting from reactive stockpiling to predictive resilience, exemplified by AI-enabled models that forecast drug shortages and identify supply gaps in real time.8 Fewer than one in five want to reduce their reliance on technology providers in less trustworthy jurisdictions.
Figure 7: To what extent do you expect your company to take each of the following actions in response to potential geopolitical risk, over the next three years? (SUMMARY NET: To a large or very large extent)
Despite these pressures, Middle East health organisations report greater levels of preparedness than their global peers. Nearly two-thirds (63%) say their organisation is ready to manage disruption to a ‘large or very large extent’, compared with 39% globally, while 47% say C-suite leadership has strengthened their organisation’s ability to respond to disruption. Experience gained during the rapid, tech-enabled response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shape how resilience is embedded across operating models.
What does the next decade look like for Health Industries leaders?
While our CEO Survey findings reflect the confidence of Health Industries leaders across industries in the near and medium term, PwC’s economists have also looked further out to the decade ahead across sectors and analysed how two major global megatrends – AI and climate change - are driving industry reconfiguration (see figure 8). They have also looked at the emergence of new domains of growth: markets where companies work across sector boundaries to meet fundamental human needs of how we build, care, feed, fuel, make and move, and how we connect and compute, fund and insure and govern and serve.9
PwC analysis shows that in 2025 alone, both Pharma and Life Sciences and Health Services faced the second-highest pressure levels in the past 25 years, a clear signal of the need to reinvent. This reinforces what we are already seeing in our Health Industries findings. New technologies and emerging players are already reshaping competition in the new ‘care’ domain, harnessing innovation to deliver better outcomes for all. For Health Industries leaders this signals a shift from operating within traditional sector boundaries to orchestrating value across interconnected systems.
PwC economists project that by 2035, the care domain in the Middle East could generate approximately US$310 billion in value, highlighting the significant opportunity for businesses to capture new, technology-enabled sources of growth.
Figure 8 Industry reconfiguration in the decade ahead
Your next move:
As capital, technology and competition converge, sustained advantage will depend on follow-through, robust governance and building resilience.
Five priorities now stand out for Health Industries CEOs:
Be strategic about how AI is deployed
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For Health Industries leaders, the critical decision is not whether to adopt AI, but where to focus investment and capability. The greatest gains will come from embedding AI into diagnostics, personalised treatment, preventative care and remote monitoring, not limiting it to administrative efficiency. Organisations that redesign clinical workflows and care pathways around AI will lead; those that confine it to back-office functions risk falling behind.
Put healthcare-specific governance in place for responsible AI use
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As AI enters clinical decision-making, generic technology governance will be insufficient. Healthcare-specific frameworks covering accountability, assurance, transparency and data permissions are essential to maintain trust and enable scale.
Build the right skills to drive growth and delivery
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Healthcare Industries leaders must review existing workforce capabilities to identify critical skill gaps, prioritise targeted upskilling and define new roles required for digital and AI-enabled care models. Expanding local medical education partnerships and leveraging digital learning platforms can accelerate capability building. Investments in regional universities, specialised healthcare programmes and AI-enabled online training platforms should form part of a coordinated strategy to strengthen national talent pipelines.
Build resilience into operating models and governance
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Cyber exposure, supply security and geopolitical uncertainty are structural features of the operating environment. Embedding resilience into strategy and operations is essential to protect continuity and adapt effectively as systems become more complex.
Make patient experience a strategic priority
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As healthcare becomes increasingly consumer-driven, CEOs should embed patient activation, engagement and experience into core strategy, investing in digital tools, personalised care pathways and measurable experience outcomes to build trust, loyalty and long-term value.
Contact us:
Lina Shadid
PwC Middle East Health Industries Leader , PwC Middle East
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