Healthcare demand in general will rise 240 per cent in the GCC region over the next 20 years, with health risk factors, ageing, population growth and medical inflation contributing to the rise in spending, according to an expert.
In response to this spending increase, the total number of hospital beds is projected to rise from 68,250 in 2006 to 114,450 by 2015 and 161,750 by 2025, said Dr Ioan Cleaton Jones, a senior health Specialist in the Health and Education Department of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, based in Washington.
McKinsey & Company had recently modeled disease trends in the six GCC countries and projected these figures.
IFC fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments.
Addressing the GE Healthcare Middle East Media Summit’s discussion on 'Healthcare in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities – Rising Demand for Healthcare,' Dr. Cleaton-Jones pointed out that high-income countries such as the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia were spending only 2.2 per cent to 3.4 per cent on healthcare.
"These spending levels will continue to rise as populations grow, people live longer, experience fewer infectious diseases and get more chronic diseases of old age and affluence such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer," he noted.
"Several countries in the Mena region were exhibiting strong economic growth. While high-income examples such as the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia are well-known, middle-income countries such as Oman, Jordan, Egypt, and Tunisia are also growing fast with annual economic growth of 5-7 per cent," he added.
Dr Cleaton-Jones said while high oil prices were a big reason for capital flows into the region, several countries were making far-reaching economic reforms to improve their business climates and attract investors, thereby driving more sustainable economic growth in the region.
The World Bank’s Doing Business report (www.doingbusiness.org) tracks the economic reforms for 178 countries.
Last year, Egypt rose from 152-126 in the world, making it the world’s top reformer, while Saudi Arabia rose from 33 to 23, and Tunisia went from 93 to 88.
This is helping to increase intra-regional investment. IFC has helped to finance several investments from high-income countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE into lower-income countries such as Egypt and Yemen over the past 18 months.
At this year’s media summit, over 40 delegates comprising leading medical experts and media representatives joined GE Healthcare to also discuss the evolving practice of medicine and patient care from treating symptomatic ‘late-stage’ disease to a focus on earlier pre-symptomatic disease detection and earlier, more effective treatment options.
GE healthcare invests $1 billion annually in global research and development to bring to market innovative tools that can potentially help healthcare professionals diagnose disease at an earlier stage.
GE Healthcare International President and CEO - Eastern and Africa Growth Markets (EAGM), Richard di Benedetto delivered the keynote address focusing on the company’s vision for the future of healthcare delivery.
This year’s summit aimed to address the challenges and emerging trends as well as help raise awareness about the “Early Health” model of care as it relates to the management of breast cancer and other disease trends impacting the Middle East region, such as the increased incidence of cardiac disease.-TradeArabia News Service