Public Health Authority

The Public Health Authority is the entity responsible for monitoring, measuring, evaluating, and combating public health risk factors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This includes infectious and non-communicable diseases, injuries, and other health challenges. Its responsibilities encompass providing solutions, enacting legislation, taking preventive measures, and establishing health guidelines and awareness programs.

On March 2, 2021, the Council of Ministers approved the transformation of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, established on April 29, 2013, into a public authority named the Public Health Authority, along with its organizational arrangements.

The authority oversees several departments, including the Monitoring and Preparedness Department, the Communicable Diseases Department, the Non-Communicable Diseases Department, the Health Improvement and Promotion Department, and the Environmental and Community Health Department.

The authority coordinates its business from its headquarters in the capital, Riyadh, and supervises the Public Health Laboratory, which includes several specialized laboratories, with some targeting the detection of neglected tropical diseases, infectious diseases, antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, influenza, respiratory diseases, and other specialties.

The authority is entrusted with several roles and responsibilities, including conducting studies and research to promote well-being, monitoring and tracking diseases both domestically and internationally, exchanging information with international health organizations, and establishing a database for this purpose. It is responsible for developing plans, rules, regulations, and programs in the field of well-being promotion in coordination with relevant entities. Additionally, it identifies health problems and establishes a national health record using research results and data from other national databases.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the authority played a crucial role in addressing it by establishing preventive protocols that regulate the work of government and private entities during the pandemic. On March 17, 2020, the authority announced the commencement of genetic sequencing studies of COVID-19 (nCov-2019) in its laboratories using next-generation sequencing technology.