The World Health Organization has affirmed that health systems in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, particularly Kuwait, rank among the most digitally mature in the Eastern Mediterranean region and are increasingly serving as models for strengthening healthcare delivery in fragile and conflict-affected states.
Speaking to Kuwait News Agency on World Health Day — observed under this year’s theme “Together for Health – Support Science” — WHO spokesperson Christian Landmeier said the GCC’s experience in telemedicine, electronic health records, and digital health infrastructure built during the COVID-19 pandemic has produced resilient frameworks that can withstand sustained regional pressure. He noted that GCC states also function as key humanitarian partners, funding and implementing health responses in Yemen, Syria, Sudan, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
On AI and digital innovation, Landmeier described both as promising tools for addressing healthcare gaps in conflict zones, capable of compensating for shortages in specialist expertise, supporting initial diagnosis, and accelerating triage in high-pressure environments. They can also enhance supply chain management, he said. However, he stressed that AI cannot replace core components of healthcare systems — medical personnel, infrastructure, and essential medicines — and requires robust government oversight to ensure ethical and effective deployment. Telemedicine was highlighted as particularly viable in insecure environments, enabling consultations without requiring travel and reducing risks to both patients and healthcare workers.
The WHO expressed deep concern over escalating attacks on healthcare infrastructure across the region. Landmeier disclosed that the organisation documented more than 88 attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon and 30 in Iran within a single month, more than 214 attacks on Sudan’s health system since the outbreak of conflict — leaving approximately 33% of facilities out of service — and damage to more than 200 health centres and 200 ambulances in the occupied Palestinian territories. Lebanon has also seen the displacement of more than 1.16 million people. The Eastern Mediterranean region currently contains 14 of the world’s 21 conflict-affected countries.
Editor’s Note: The WHO’s explicit recognition of GCC digital health infrastructure as a transferable model for conflict settings positions the region’s e-health investments as having strategic humanitarian value beyond domestic healthcare delivery. Watch whether this framing accelerates GCC government commitments to export digital health frameworks, particularly telemedicine and AI triage tools, to conflict-affected health systems in the region.
