"Sahl" Wins Awards for Best Comprehensive Government App and Excellence in Digital Services via "Newborn Journey"

Kuwait achieved a dual Gulf award, with its unified government e-services application, “Sahl,” winning the Best Comprehensive Government Application award, and “Baby Journey” receiving the Excellence Award in the Best Government Digital Service category 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 two days ago, in a culmination that reflects the success of Kuwait’s experience in digitizing government services, enhancing integration among entities, and improving user experience.

Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Acting Minister of Media and Culture, Omar Al-Omar, expressed his pride and honor in this dual Gulf accolade, affirming that the success of “Sahl” and the excellence of “Baby Journey” reflect Kuwait’s progress in developing digital government services and embody the success of joint government efforts in delivering more integrated and efficient services.

Al-Omar stated, “We dedicate this achievement to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, and His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Prime Minister, in appreciation of their continuous support for the digital transformation journey in Kuwait and their commitment to developing government services and facilitating the lives of citizens and residents.”

He added that receiving two Gulf awards in a single day is a source of pride and confirms the success of the vision behind the “Sahl” application, which not only consolidated government services under a single digital umbrella but also transformed the way they are delivered, moving from individual services to integrated digital journeys that place citizens’ needs at the core of the development process.

Al-Omar emphasized that this accolade represents a shared national achievement for all government entities participating in the “Sahl” application, noting that the excellence of “Baby Journey” at the Gulf level is a special recognition of the efforts of the seven participating entities: the Ministries of Justice, Health, Interior, Commerce and Industry, the Public Authority for Civil Information, the Public Authority for Manpower, and the Diwan of Civil Service. Their coordinated efforts delivered an integrated digital experience that streamlines government procedures related to newborns.

He expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to the leaders of the participating government entities, the executive committee members of the “Sahl” application, and the technical and administrative teams that contributed to developing the application and its digital journeys, affirming that these awards are the culmination of joint national efforts and continuous behind-the-scenes work that resulted in providing easier and more efficient government services to citizens and residents.

Al-Omar pointed out that the next phase will see continued development of the application and the expansion of new digital journeys, alongside leveraging artificial intelligence technologies and proactive services, and enhancing integration among government entities. He affirmed that this dual Gulf accolade represents a doubled responsibility to continue development and elevate the quality of government services and user experience.

For his part, Colonel Bashar Al-Sayed Hashem, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the “Sahl” application, stated in a similar remark to KUNA that winning the Best Comprehensive Government Application award 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, and enhancing connectivity and data exchange.

He clarified that the “Sahl” application has managed to consolidate services from 42 government entities within a unified 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 fully coordinated.

To serve the citizen. He added that this achievement is the fruit of collective efforts made by government entities, technical teams, and administrative staff involved, emphasizing 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.

On her part, Executive Committee member Fajr Al-Yassin told (KUNA) that the dual Gulf accolade reflects the importance of focusing on the quality of digital government services and user experience. She noted that developing the "Sahel" app is not limited to increasing the number of services, but also includes improving ease of use, clarity of procedures, and the ability to meet beneficiaries' needs.

Al-Yassin explained that the "Baby Journey" represents a model of this approach, as it was designed around family needs to provide a cohesive experience that facilitates procedures related to a newborn, rather than dealing with each government entity separately. She added that user feedback and suggestions form a fundamental element in continuing to develop the app and its services, emphasizing that maintaining user trust requires continuous improvement in quality, ease of use, and elevating the digital experience.

For her part, Executive Committee member Amira Abdulrahim stated in a similar remark that this achievement reflects the importance of technical integration between government systems and its role in building a unified digital platform capable of delivering integrated services efficiently and reliably. She confirmed that the success of the "Baby Journey" resulted from joint technical efforts to achieve connectivity and data exchange among participating government entities, thereby reducing the duplication of procedures and documents and facilitating the transfer of transactions between government systems.

She viewed the development of technical infrastructure and enhancing the readiness of government systems as a crucial foundation for the sustainability of digital services and the expansion of launching more integrated journeys, praising the efforts of technical teams in participating entities that contributed to the success of this initiative and achieved this Gulf distinction.

This accolade comes in recognition of the progress made by the "Sahel" app in providing government services through a unified digital platform that includes 42 government entities, allowing citizens and residents to complete their transactions electronically with ease and efficiency. It also highlights the success of the "Baby Journey" in providing an advanced model of government integration that combines services and procedures from several government entities within a single digital journey centered on the needs of Kuwaiti families.

This dual achievement marks a new milestone in the digital transformation journey of the State of Kuwait, combining excellence in building a comprehensive government platform with excellence in developing digital services and journeys that streamline procedures and simplify the user experience. This achievement adds a new Gulf accolade to the "Sahel" app’s record, following its receipt of a special honor within the Arab Government Excellence Award and winning the Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Award for Informatics in 2025, reflecting the continued presence of the Kuwaiti experience in specialized forums on digitization and government services.

This dual accolade confirms that the success of digital transformation is not measured solely by the number of services or completed transactions, but by the ability of government entities to work and integrate within a single system and provide a comprehensive digital experience that enhances service quality and facilitates the lives of citizens and residents.

Bahraini Interior Minister and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communications Technology, First Marshal Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, and GCC Secretary-General Jassem Al-Bedawi attended the ceremony honoring winners of the Digital Government Award of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which was held yesterday evening in the Kingdom.

Bahrain. The Bahraini minister, in a speech delivered during the ceremony, stated that practical experience and expertise confirm that security, development, and investment in technology are two sides of the same coin, and that joint efforts and rapid coordination to address the new paradigm in the concept of security and response have become an imperative, particularly as technology and artificial intelligence have transcended borders, turning the digital space into 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 capacity for resilience and continuity, which necessitates continuing to strengthen Gulf cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, enhancing readiness, exchanging expertise and information, and ensuring the continuity of vital services under all circumstances.

For his part, the Secretary-General, in a similar address, emphasized that the GCC Digital Government Award holds special significance, as it is not merely an occasion to honor winning entities, but a Gulf platform for discovering outstanding ideas, stimulating innovation, and transforming successful experiences into opportunities for development and shared benefit. He added that the true value of this award is not measured solely by the number of winning entities, but by our ability to disseminate successful experiences, leverage innovative solutions, and convert individual achievements into added value for joint Gulf efforts.

The ceremony included a short film about the award, its previous stages, and its role in stimulating activities and fields of work related to digital government in the GCC countries. The Bahraini Minister of Interior, who chairs the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communications Technology, and the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council jointly honored the winners of the 2026 Digital Government Award, the members of the judging committee, and the founders of the award from the GCC countries.