Page 26 - Nile Explorer Issue 007

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Private providers, including for-profit
and not-for-profit enterprises, also fill
an important medical need by offering
products and services that are not
otherwise available, such as advanced
medical equipment and procedures and
higher-quality services.
The report finds considerable demand
for investment over the next decade,
including: Over half a million additional
hospital beds; better production facili-
ties and distribution/retail systems for
pharmaceuticals and medical supplies
and about 90,000 physicians, 500,000
nurses, and 300,000 community health
Photo: Cargo staff unloads the medical supplies donated by billionaire Jack Ma, worker.
at the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 22, 2020. The Healthcare and Economic Growth
countries to put strict ceilings on still lacks the infrastructure to deliver in Africa report was launched in Febru-
government spending in the social health care and faces a severe shortage ary 2019 at the Africa Business: Health
sectors, limit public sector recruitment, of trained medical personnel. As Africa's Forum in Addis Ababa, and provided
and liberalize trade. This has however economies improve, the demand for the basis for much of the event discus-
changed with the UN standards now good quality health care will only sion. It was here that private sector
requiring governments to invest a mini- increase further. champions and their public sector
mum of 5% of GDP in healthcare, which Based on the research in a new report counterparts gathered to chart a profit-
unfortunately many African countries release 2019, IFC estimates that over the able course for turning the maxim –
have ignored leading to limited infra- next decade, $25-$30 billion in new health is wealth – into practical, realistic
structure, low doctor to patient ratio, investment will be needed to meet results. Nearly 350 delegates attended
lack of medicines and medical equip- Africa’s health care demand. the forum, convened by GBCHealth,
ment in hospitals. United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa (UNECA) and Aliko Dangote
The resulting pressures on health work- "This is a chance to increase access to Foundation.
health care for millions of Africans," said
ers are currently immense, a situation Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice Presi-
that could be absolutely overwhelming dent and CEO. "If we can get all the Ensuring access to quality healthcare
in the event of an exponential surge of critical players – governments, donors, for all at affordable rates is constrained
the COVID 19 infection across the investors, and providers – to leverage by a scarcity of public resources. Africa
continent, on the scale of Italy or The the private health sector and integrate it has made significant progress in health
US. It is for this reason that African effectively with public systems, we can outcomes, particularly since 2000,
countries must, using models from also greatly improve the quality of care." though out-of-pocket expenditure, the
China, The US and Italy rely on The report finds that the private sector single largest component (36 per cent)
preventing the surge in infections by already delivers about half of Africa's of total healthcare expenditure on
every means possible. health products and services. It calls for average, creates financial barriers to
access health services and puts people at
Health care in Sub-Saharan Africa a close partnership between the public risk of impoverishment, slows down
remains the worst in the world, with and private sectors, including improve- poverty reduction and exacerbates
few countries able to spend the $34 to ments to regulatory oversight of private inequalities.
$40 a year per person that the World health care, and outlines ways that the
Health Organization considers the private sector could be better engaged Africa has a current health financing
minimum for basic health care. And to improve its sustainability. gap of at least US$ 66 billion per annum.
despite widespread poverty, an aston- Rather than serving only the rich, in Government expenditure on health in
ishing 50 percent of the region’s health Africa today the private sector is some- all but two countries (Algeria and
expenditure is financed by out-of-pock- times the only option for health care in Namibia) is less than the minimum of 5
et payments from individuals. many rural areas and poor urban slums. per cent of gross domestic product,
which is considered necessary for
While donor attention has yielded A poor woman in the region is as likely ensuring adequate health coverage for
remarkable efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, to take her sick child to a private hospi- at least 90 per cent of the population.
tuberculosis, and malaria, most of Africa tal or clinic as to a public facility.

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