Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu has called for increased focus on capital allocation and investment in innovation to drive global improvements.
Elumelu, who is also the founder of the Tony Elemelu Foundation, TEF, made the call yesterday during a speech at the Abu Dhabi Health Forum in the United Arab Emirates.
He said: “All of us, private and public sectors and the developing world, must prioritize appropriate allocation of capital and investment in innovation related to health research and health technologies in order to drive to global improvements in health outcomes.
“Across Africa, my foundation has funded 700 healthcare entrepreneurs, with a gender ratio of 49% men to 51% women, but this is just the tip of the scale. 'iceberg. These entrepreneurs have continued to help communities and even their countries progress. health care delivery in Africa,” he added.
Speaking on other measures needed to improve global healthcare, Elumelu said: “It is not just entrepreneurs and start-ups who are making a difference. Big pharmaceutical companies also have a role to play here. the need to review the current patent system and carry out reforms while encouraging innovation.
“We must also encourage large pharmaceutical companies to partner in R&D on diseases in low-income countries. Incentives to invest in R&D and manufacturing facilities for large pharmaceutical companies in developing countries are also important – so taking advantage of the global trading system is also important. element of global health equality.
“Even beyond the pharmaceutical sector, the same steps should be taken to open access to medical device research and manufacturing, healthcare business model innovation, and more.”
“We need to work innovatively across all social sectors to achieve results. A high percentage of health facilities in Africa do not have reliable power supply (I think it's around 40%) – without electricity , health outcomes will be poor.
“During the COVID pandemic, this was a major problem as isolation wards did not have electricity. It was also difficult to store vaccines sent to the continent. The global renewable energy sector, both the thermal and hydropower sectors, should step in to address this massive energy deficiency problem in Africa to achieve health outcomes in Africa.