In a recent appearance at the Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week, Mr. Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), highlighted the urgent need for stakeholders in the healthcare sector to prioritize global health equity over national health.
Elumelu emphasized that Africa is behind with limited budgets and poor healthcare infrastructure, which has resulted in poor health outcomes that affect everyone.
Elumelu went on to state that climate change is making healthcare issues more severe, with 40% of healthcare facilities in Africa lacking reliable power supply. He pointed out that healthcare challenges in the world’s poorest countries can have a significant impact on the richest countries, and climate change is making transmission happen faster.
Elumelu called on both the private and public sectors to allocate appropriate capital and invest in innovation such as health research and health technology/IT to drive global improvements in health outcomes. He disclosed that his foundation, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), has funded 700 healthcare entrepreneurs, with a gender distribution ratio of 49% male to 51% female. These entrepreneurs have gone on to advance healthcare delivery in Africa, helping communities and even their countries.
The UBA Chairman further stated that it is not just early-stage entrepreneurs and companies that make a difference. Big pharma also has a role to play in ensuring a sustainable health future for all. To achieve this, there is a need to review the current patent system and effect reforms while still incentivizing innovation. Elumelu stressed that there also needs to be incentives for big pharma to partner on R&D for diseases from lower-income countries. Incentives for investing in R&D and manufacturing facilities for big pharma in developing countries are also crucial.
He suggested that the global renewable energy sector, both thermal and hydro energy sectors, should step in to address the massive energy deficiency in Africa to realize health outcomes in Africa. Elumelu challenged stakeholders in the private and public sector to work innovatively across social sectors to address the energy deficit and achieve results in healthcare delivery.
Finally, Elumelu stressed that with private sector innovation, startup funding from foundations and financial institutions, healthcare policies from national and global health systems, investments from all, as well as cross-sector collaboration, humanity can definitely move forward towards a more equitable and sustainable healthcare future.
Tags
local