Muscat – Deaths resulting from infectious diseases topped the causes of deaths in the sultanate, with 2,691 patients (44 per cent) succumbing to infections in 2021, followed by deaths from failure of cardiovascular system (983 deaths) and the respiratory system (635 deaths).

The maternal mortality rate increased significantly from 20.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017 to 45.7 deaths in 2021.

According to the Health Bulletin 2022, issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of surgeries in the institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Health decreased between 2017 to 2021 by more than 44 per cent. While the number of blood donors went up by 22 per cent in the five year period.

The statistics also showed that the per capita visits per year to the outpatient clinics of the institutions affiliated with the ministry decreased from 3.5 per cent in 2017 to 2.7 per cent in 2021. Moreover, the rate of coverage of children’s immunisations in 2021 reached 100 per cent.

‘Spending on the health sector amounted to 7.8 per cent of total government spending in the sultanate in 2021, while the contribution of the health sector to GDP at current prices amounted to 3.4 per cent, at about RO3.39bn,’ said NCSI.

The number of dialysis sessions in the sultanate increased 31.8 per cent to 315,389 in 2021 compered to 239,342 in 2017.

The statistics show that there are 24 dialysis centres that provided services to 2,275 patients in the five year period.