Issued by: ITP Communications
The healthcare sector across the African continent has traditionally been one of the poorer cousins in government decision making and expenditure. Images that flash across television screens routinely show dilapidated health facilities and a lack of medicines and hospital furniture. Many therefore question the rationale of being involved in the sector in Africa, unless through donor-funded initiatives.
The sector is beginning to change however, with an increase in emphasis on healthcare as a part of debt-relief initiatives, as well as the growth in private healthcare facilities in many African countries. The 2nd Pan African Health Congress, to be held from 29-31 August 2006 at the Sandton Convention Centre, is Africa’s premier congress for decision makers in Africa, incorporating a conference, exhibition, and the 1st Pan African Health Awards for Excellence and Innovation sponsored by Absa. PAH 06 will look specifically at these issues, with the theme this year being focused on “Accessing and Managing Funding for Healthcare Initiatives in Africa”.
The expansion can be attributed to a number of factors, each of which plays a role, according to Bonnett. “Debt relief from the World Bank and IMF specifies that a portion of the savings have to be devoted to social sectors, including healthcare.” In addition, “the peace dividend in several key countries in the region has led to the need for both the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, the provision of new infrastructure in local communities, as well as the need to service the needs of the growing expatriate and business communities that are growing.”
The key market for healthcare products in Africa remains South Africa, although there are significant markets outside of Africa’s largest economy. Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon and Tanzania all offer opportunities for suppliers. This is at two levels, according to Whitehouse & Associates Managing Director, Liz Whitehouse, the first being “as a direct supplier of drugs and equipment into the market, but also importantly as a supplier of inputs into the domestic industries of several countries – notably in North Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.”
Whitehouse went on to say that experience in dealing with procurement officers and policy makers within many African countries and relief supply agencies, showed that South African suppliers “who accounted for less than 2% of the rest of the continent’s healthcare supplies, were simply not approaching the departments and agencies correctly.” Thus whilst suppliers from France, which accounted for nearly 32% of medical supplies to Africa from 2000 to 2004, Germany, the UK, India, Spain and other key suppliers seemed to have the correct recipe for success, “many agencies operating out of South Africa are dismayed at the response from South African suppliers of most goods into their operations” a situation that the Pan African Health Congress 2006 hopes to address.
According to the Jenny Wong of organisers – Biz Events, “with the nature of healthcare provision across the continent becoming more complex, PAH 06 is an ideal opportunity for those in the industry to meet with key policy makers from around the continent at a government, donor and private healthcare level.” As part of this process, according to Wong, the organisers contracted Whitehouse & Associates to carefully identify “senior government, private, and NGO professionals from over twenty countries in Africa, as well as some from further afield, in order that industry can engage directly with those charged with rolling out healthcare in Africa.” This entailed direct contact with ministries of health at policy and procurement level, research institutes, NGO’s and key private sector companies from African countries.
Countries included in the research are Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, DR-Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia. The organisers are in the process of contacting each of the organisations and individuals identified in order to encourage their direct participation in PAH 06 says Warricker, “to make the event continentally inclusive and offer a broad range of individuals able to contribute meaningfully to healthcare issues in Africa.”
“The networking opportunities afforded by hopefully having a strong contingent of African healthcare decision-makers at the event should prove invaluable for companies and institutions in South Africa and other countries looking to access opportunities in the region” added Wong.
For further information regarding the PAH Conference and exhibition, or to nominate initiatives for the Pan African Health Awards please contact the Johannesburg office on Tel: + 27 11 465 8871 or the Cape Town office at + 27 21 551 4881; or visit www.panafricanhealth.com
Source: Bizcommunity.com, July 4, 2006
