'Sahl' wins two Gulf awards: Best Comprehensive Government App and Excellence in 'Birth Journey' Services

Kuwait achieved a dual Gulf milestone as the unified government e-services application, “Sahel,” won the award for Best Comprehensive Government Application, while “Baby Journey” received the Excellence Award in the category of Best Government Digital Service at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Digital Government Awards. The announcement of this achievement came during the seventh edition of the awards, hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain, in a ceremony reflecting the success of Kuwait’s experience in digitizing government services, enhancing integration among entities, and improving user experience.

In this context, Colonel Bashar Al-Sayed Hashem, Chairman of the Executive Committee for the “Sahel” application, told KUNA that winning the award for Best Comprehensive Government Application and the excellence of “Baby Journey” reflect the success of the joint government work system, which is based on continuous coordination among government entities, reengineering procedures, developing services, enhancing connectivity, and exchanging data.

He explained that the “Sahel” application has managed to consolidate services from 42 government entities within a single digital platform, while “Baby Journey” provided a practical model for the transition of government entities from providing separate services to working within an integrated digital journey where government procedures and systems are interconnected to serve citizens.

He added that this achievement is the result of collective efforts made by government entities, technical teams, and administrative staff, and confirmed that the Executive Committee will continue to work on accelerating the digitization of services and developing new digital journeys to enhance government performance efficiency and save time and effort for users.

For her part, Fajr Al-Yassin, a member of the Executive Committee, told KUNA that the dual Gulf award reflects the importance of focusing on the quality of digital government services and user experience, noting that the development of the “Sahel” application is not limited to increasing the number of services but also includes improving ease of use, clarity of procedures, and the ability to meet the needs of beneficiaries.

Similarly, Amira Abdulrahim, another member of the Executive Committee, stated in a similar interview that this achievement reflects the importance of technical integration between government systems and its role in building a unified digital platform capable of providing interconnected services efficiently and reliably.

The ceremony honoring the winners of the GCC Digital Government Awards, held the day before yesterday in the Kingdom of Bahrain, was attended by Bahrain’s Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communications Technology, Field Marshal Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, and GCC Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi.

In a speech at the ceremony, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah said that practical experiences and expertise confirm that security, development, and investment in technology are two sides of the same coin, and that joint work and rapid coordination to cope with the new pace in the concept of security and response have become an imperative, especially after technology and artificial intelligence have transcended borders, making the digital space an open arena for movement without permission or restrictions.

He added that the security of digital infrastructure has become an integral part of national security and a country’s ability to withstand and continue, which necessitates continuing to enhance GCC cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, raising readiness, exchanging expertise and information, and ensuring the continuity of vital services under all circumstances.

For his part, the Secretary-General emphasized in a similar speech that the GCC Digital Government Awards hold special importance, as they are not merely an occasion to honor winning entities, but a Gulf platform to discover outstanding ideas, stimulate innovation, and transform successful experiences into opportunities for development and shared benefit.