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Washington, D.C., February 7, 2005
—The International Finance Corporation – the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and the world’s largest source of private health care financing in emerging markets – is holding a major conference at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., February 16-18, 2005.
The event, which will focus on managing growth in the health care market, will draw together experts from the fields of private health care, government, academia, insurance, and finance. It will explore the future shape of private health care, emerging opportunities, and ways in which private sector organizations can tap into this growth.
An agenda is attached below and more details of the conference are available on the
website
:
Experts from around the world will speak at the conference to be hosted by IFC’s acting executive vice president, Assaad Jabre. Professor Julian le Grand, senior policy adviser on health issues to the U.K. prime minister’s office, will be the keynote speaker at the opening dinner, February 16, and Professor Alan Maynard, University of York, U.K., will speak on global health challenges and paths to the future, February 17.
Distinguished panelists include representatives of Laboratorio Fleury and Diagnosticos da America (Brazil); United Family Hospital (China); Apollo Hospitals Group (India); American-British Cowdray Medical Center (Mexico); New Medical Center (Russia); Netcare (South Africa); Acibadem Health Group and MESA Group (Turkey); BUPA, Partnerships, and Health and Social Care Quality Center (U.K.); and Joint Commission International, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Taylor Associates International (USA). Other speakers include experts and economists from the World Bank and IFC.
Guy Ellena, director of IFC’s Health and Education Department, said, “The environment for the private health care industry has never looked better. Global spending on health care has risen to unprecedented levels, people are demanding more and better services, and governments are openly embracing private sector participation spurred by the need to increase quality and efficiency in public health care systems.”
Nowhere is this need being felt more keenly than in the emerging markets, where new private clinics and hospitals are springing up in major cities across the developing world. Increasing life expectancies and the growth in lifestyle-related conditions, along with advances in medical technology and the rapid spread of information, are contributing to demands that public sectors alone cannot meet. As local capital markets mature, out-of-pocket payments are being formalized through the emergence of health care insurance—presenting opportunities for both local operators and multinationals. Companies from emerging markets are also actively seeking growth opportunities in industrialized countries.
The mission of IFC (
http://www.ifc.org/
) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY04, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
IFC's Health and Education Department (
http://www.ifc.org/che
) provides project and corporate financing through a variety of financial instruments, including loans, guarantees, and direct equity investments. In addition to financing, the department also provides technical assistance to support individual clients and undertakes independent research to explore various issues facing the sector in different regions. From FY 2000 to 2005, IFC has provided approximately $300 million in financing to 30 health care projects in 22 countries.
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