On February 20th and 21st 2014, Africa's health ministers and professionals would gather in a 5-star hotel in London for the first-ever Africa Healthcare Summit organised by Oliver Kinross, an international business research organization. In this exclusive interview, Charlotte Paige-Smith, a rep of the Oliver Kinross explains why an African healthcare summit would be held in London and what the continent would gain from the summit.
HealthNewsNG.com: My first question is the obvious one, why
London for a summit on Africa healthcare?
Charlotte: The reason
why we are holding the Africa Healthcare Summit in London is to provide African
Ministries of Health and healthcare professionals the opportunity to gain
insight into the latest international developments in healthcare provision; as
well as the opportunity for them to network with international healthcare
experts, investors and solution providers.
The
organisers of the conference Oliver Kinross Ltd are a UK based company with a
registered office in South Africa, and are market leaders in the provision of
African conferences.
Will this be the first edition of the Africa
Healthcare Summit?
It will be
the first edition of the Healthcare Conference in Africa ever to be held in
London; however we have around 6 conferences a year in Africa mainly focused on
all the developing markets in Africa.
Why is the summit just starting now?
The summit
has been in discussion for a while and due to our close relationships with
African Ministries and Government from previous events; we have had many
requests to hold a conference focusing on Africa Healthcare.
How will the summit help the African
healthcare system?
The Africa
Healthcare Summit 2014, 20-21 February, being held in London, is the perfect
platform to explore the latest investment opportunities within Africa's
healthcare industry and discover the latest regulatory changes, technological
advancements, innovations and techniques.
The Africa
Healthcare Summit 2014 is the only event of its kind to bring large delegations
of government ministers, senior hospital directors and healthcare professionals
to Europe to network with international healthcare experts, investors and
solution providers.
Taking place
in a 5-star venue in London, delegates will have the opportunity to gain
in-depth insight into international developments in healthcare provision. 35
top-level speakers will be addressing a range of issues from, the future
outlook for healthcare provision across Africa, and Developing a World Class
Healthcare System on a Realistic Price Tag, to Strategies to Develop Africa’s
Private Healthcare Sector, Tackling Gaps in Financing, and Public-Private
Partnerships in Tele-Medicine.
The Summit
will also examine a number of case studies, including: international
investment, technology providers, Tunisia, Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia.
One major
effect of the boom on the Africa healthcare sectors was the rise in demand for
private healthcare.
The
burgeoning middle classes can afford, and are willing to pay for better
treatment. This is an incentive like never before. Often in partnerships with
governments, the private sector is improving healthcare facilities, affordably.
One of the goals of the summit is to develop
Africa's private healthcare sector. Unlike in other parts of the world where
the private sector is recording impressive successes, Africa could be said to
be lagging behind. What do you think is responsible for the continual reliance
on public healthcare system and how will the summit help Africa's private
health sector?
Private
healthcare providers play critical roles within the healthcare sector, but can
only serve the white, higher income groups, leaving the public sector to serve
the lower income. Only a small amount of the population can afford
private sector services. There is such a large division in terms of
affordability of private healthcare and the access of public healthcare,
therefore not as many people can fund private healthcare.
The
conference will present the future outlook and new business models for
healthcare provision in Africa, it will also uncover development and expansion
plans for private hospitals. It will allow delegates to benefit from case
study insights of a diverse range of African countries and uncover future
investment opportunities in African healthcare by assessing the role of
new technology in transforming African healthcare provision.
HealthNewsNG.com is a media partner for the summit
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment