The healthcare in the region will face a series of potentially terminal threats unless the governments in the GCC engage with the private sector to expand, consolidate and support healthcare in the region, according to a report by Ithmar Capital.

Entitled “Expand, Consolidate & Support: Meeting the GCC Healthcare Challenge 2050”, the report reveals that 138,965 hospital beds, 140,334 physicians and 227,079 nurses will be required by 2050 to maintain current healthcare levels in GCC states.

According to the report, the UAE alone will need 15,698 new beds and physicians along with 31,396 additional nurses.

It is the latest report in Ithmar Capital’s highly successful series of thought-leadership reports on private equity investment in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC). The report was produced in partnership with Dow Jones Private Equity.

A wide range of other extensive data and insights contained in this pioneering publication are also expected to form an invaluable paradigm in discussing and addressing the future of Gulf healthcare.

The report also highlights how the economic development which has enabled impressive progress in GCC healthcare over recent years has simultaneously played a defining role in the proliferation of serious health problems associated with growing affluence, including diabetes and obesity.

“The requirement for healthcare provision to meet the needs of populations all over the world  is undiminished in the face of unprecedented financial turmoil,” said Faisal Bin Juma Belhoul, founder and managing partner, Ithmar Capital.

'Remarkable progress continues to be made by GCC governments in putting this capacity in place, and as a result, the inhabitants of the Gulf can today look forward to life expectancies unparalleled in the history of the region.'

'However, this achievement is now facing a series of potentially terminal threats caused by the very growth which has made it possible.'

“Meeting the GCC Healthcare Challenge 2050 will require a consensus-driven healthcare infrastructure and regulatory environment which plays to the strengths of both the public and private sectors.'

'This report sets out a compelling case for private sector involvement in facing the Healthcare 2050 challenge, with some of the foremost players in the GCC private equity industry putting forward their views.'

Belhoul summarises some of the key issues in the GCC Healthcare Challenge 2050:

Expanding – The priorities of private sector players dovetail perfectly with those of a market-driven GCC healthcare industry. They can provide the capital accessibility and skill-sets to support flexible, properly targeted GCC healthcare expansion.

This will be vital in addressing restricted access to capital markets, a pressing need for institutionalization and financial discipline, and previous failures in regional growth.

Consolidating – GCC healthcare provision is institutionally fragmented. The private sector can assist in reducing over-capacity and excessive costs whilst maintaining optimal patient volumes and leveraging economies of scale.

Consolidation will function as a key industry driver in the coming years, with the ‘rollup’ strategy an attractive medium-term prospect.

Supporting – Intellectual fragmentation is also an issue, with GCC healthcare remaining reliant on imported expertise, whilst government projects to develop native talent are strictly long-term.

The private sector offers the capital resources and global connectivity to support the continued provision of personnel to meet changing disease patterns and management responsibilities. The private sector is a partner to governments in GCC healthcare, rather than a competitor.

Perhaps the most useful action which governments can take is simply to demonstrate trust, clear an ap