Once it’s 'mission “
accomplished' a new mission starts in how to maintain the facility and train the people to keep them there. Sharagim Shams, OPEC Fund Senior Country Manager for Eastern and Southern Africa, Public Sector Operations
underwritten by the sovereign also acting as the ultimate guarantor; equity funds that include healthcare in their investment portfolios; and trade finance
populations that has helped Pakistan meet demand for testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more detail on how Evercare is expanding access to healthcare, see pp 36-39. In the coming years, the OPEC Fund will continue to drive progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 – Good Health and Well-Being, with targeted public and private healthcare investments. In Africa, even as the continent strengthens economically, Shams believes the effort to achieve better healthcare is ongoing – even with better infrastructure in place. “Once it’s 'mission accomplished' on a project, a new mission starts in how to maintain the facility and train the people to keep them there,” he says. Beyond patients’ welfare, perhaps this is the hidden reward of building quality healthcare: the deeper, cascading effects on society when fostering the required technology, knowledge and skills. Succeeding in helping people to live healthier and longer lives is healthcare’s defining mission.
transactions that enable trade in essential medical equipment or
goods such as pharmaceutical drugs. A new 558-bed hospital in Turkey’s western Manisa province demonstrates how the private sector successfully fills gaps in public infrastructure. A PPP initiative building on the country’s successful track record, the US$267 million project is targeting a marked shortfall of hospital beds. National health insurance coverage in Turkey has reached close to 100 percent since the inception of a national health plan in 2003. Now, the PPP model is vital for rapidly raising finance for the construction of medical units: the city hospital in Manisa is one of 13 hospitals and health campuses under the PPP program. Private equity, meanwhile, can provide a route for high-quality interventions on a broader scale in the healthcare sector. Since 2016, the OPEC
Fund has invested US$20 million in Evercare, a healthcare-focused equity platform that seeks opportunities for building quality medical infrastructure in Africa and south-east Asia. Evercare also supports an existing network, which currently consists of 30 hospitals, 16 clinics and 82 diagnostic centers, including the Islamabad Diagnostic Center, a chain of laboratory and imaging services for low-income
MANISA CITY HOSPITAL The OPEC Fund financed the construction of Manisa City Hospital in Turkey, which has been in operation since 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increased need for large-capacity and modern hospitals equipped to handle the needs of an unprecedented number of patients. Manisa Hospital is providing vital assistance to patients, thanks to an increased bed and intensive care capacity.
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