JEDDAH — About 75 percent of pharmacists working in the Kingdom are expatriates, according statistics released by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties. The commission has accredited 9,804 Saudi male and female pharmacists, who account for 25 percent of the total number of pharmacists in the Kingdom, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported. It said the number of non-Saudi pharmacists stood at 39,330. The proportion of Saudi women pharmacists was 72 percent against 17.6 percent non-Saudis. The statistics report issued by the commission stated that the number of accredited Saudi female pharmacists is 3,804, Saudi male pharmacists is around 6,000, and the number of non-Saudi pharmacists is 34,000. The commission required pharmacists to obtain a pharmacist degree from Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia or a doctor's degree from the US or Saudi Arabia. If the certificate is from the Philippines, India and Pakistan, the pharmacist should have three years of professional experience and obtain a license to practice in his or her own country. The commission also required about 20 hours of medical education annually for re-enrollment. The Executive Board of the Professional Practice of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties discussed ways of developing professional classification policies to achieving the objectives of the commission's strategic plan and increasing the efficiency of health professionals in the Kingdom. Dr. Ayman Bin Asaad Abdo, secretary-general of the commission, said it was working on a number of ways to develop the occupational classification, which is one of the priorities according to a strategic plan that seeks to raise the efficiency of the health sector. The Executive Board includes representatives of some national institutions that share with the commission many of the national objectives related to the development of healthcare. The Ministry of Labor and Development has announced plans of pharmacies to increase the Saudization rate in the pharmacy sector. There are about 8,000 pharmacies in the Kingdom. The volume of investments in the private pharmacies is estimated to be between SR4 billion and SR12 billion.
