Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia and Boehringer Ingelheim Strengthen Collaboration to Further Improve Stroke Management Across the Kingdom

• The collaboration builds on the existing partnership between the Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia and Boehringer Ingelheim in stroke care
• The renewed partnership aims to further expand stroke care through Seha Virtual Hospital and upskill medical professionals to improve service quality in stroke care
•  The initiative aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to improve healthcare services and well-being for citizens and residents

Boehringer Ingelheim has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to expand its Angels Initiative telestroke services through Seha Virtual Hospital in efforts to enhance local stroke management and improve health outcomes for stroke patients in the Kingdom.

The MoU was signed on 21 October 2024 during the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh, an annual event that brings together healthcare professionals, innovators, and policymakers to highlight advancements in healthcare technology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and health services.

The collaboration between the two parties aims to address the prevalence of stroke in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which stands at 43.8 per 100,000, largely influenced by low public awareness and knowledge[i].

The two parties entered an agreement in 2022 to incorporate telestroke services in 11 hospitals across the Kingdom through the Boehringer Ingelheim’s Angels Initiative which aims to help hospitals around the world become ‘stroke-ready’ so that patients can be treated as quickly and effectively as possible.

In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the partnership will involve the expansion of Boehringer Ingelheim’s telestroke services through the Seha Virtual Hospital, further enhancing the public’s accessibility to stroke care.

The partnership will also focus on key areas such as educational and training programs for healthcare professionals, public awareness initiatives to educate the community on stroke risk factors and early warning signs, and the creation of a comprehensive Stroke Registry in KSA to ensure data-driven improvements in patient care.

The MoU was signed by Khaled bin Nayef Al-Obaiwi, Operations Manager of Secondary and Tertiary Command Center at Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia, and Abdallah Hamed, General Manager & Head of Human Pharma Saudi Arabia, Gulf and East Africa (SAGEA) at Boehringer Ingelheim, during an official ceremony attended by Dr. Sattam Al-Otaibi, Assistant General Director of Hospitals at the Ministry of Health, and Dr. Mohammed Aljohani, Consultant in Neurology & Vascular Neurology (Stroke) and Neuro-interventions Specialist, and President of Saudi Stroke Society.

Khaled bin Nayef Al-Obaiwi, Operations Manager of Secondary and Tertiary Command Center at Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia, emphasized the importance of this collaboration: “Stroke incidences and related deaths have risen across KSA in relation to multiple factors, including the aging population, and low public awareness of stroke risk factors, causes, and symptoms[ii].

Timely intervention is of utmost importance for stroke patients as it can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and save patients’ lives[iii].

We are very pleased to build on our collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to leverage their world-class telestroke services further through our Seha Virtual Hospital, ensuring more patients have timely access to stroke support across the Kingdom.”

Abdallah Hamed, General Manager & Head of Human Pharma Saudi Arabia, Gulf, and East Africa (SAGEA) at Boehringer Ingelheim, added, “We are very pleased to expand our services through Seha Virtual Hospital to provide KSA patients with 24/7 access to leading healthcare specialists.

Our growing partnership with the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia is a testament to our ongoing commitment to working alongside the public sector to create patient-oriented healthcare solutions that improve patient outcomes in support of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”

The collaboration highlights the importance of partnerships between the public and private sectors in advancing healthcare and ensuring better patient outcomes.

Under the agreement, the parties aim to work together to improve public awareness and identify evidence-based approaches to reduce the complications of stroke.

Boehringer Ingelheim’s Angels Initiative seeks to reduce the burden of stroke for patients by working with hospitals to build an innovative network of stroke-ready hospitals worldwide to reduce treatment delays and provide patients with optimal standards of acute stroke care.

The initiative works with doctors, nurses, and ambulance crews to build acute stroke networks, optimize treatment and diagnosis, and implement best practices enabling multidisciplinary stroke teams to act faster to minimize the burden of stroke on patients’ lives.