HEALTHCARE FINANCE
A Healthy Prognosis With the population of the Middle East and Africa projected to reach 3.4 billion by 2050, the need to expand the public services sector and healthcare, in particular, gives the role of banks and other lending institutions special significance
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he healthcare sector is undergoing a fundamental t ra n sfo r m a t i o n m ov i n g towards the so-called “Health 2.0”—the consumer-centric, outcomesdriven and prevention-focused future of healthcare following the shock from the COVID-19 pandemic. EY said that this tectonic shift is driving significant consolidation and convergence as providers and payers across the healthcare ecosystem look to improve quality, reduce costs, and improve population health. A l t h o u g h c o ro n a v i r u s c re a te d numerous challenges for the global health
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care sector, it also created enormous oppor tunities for innovators and investors. The outbreak of the pandemic exposed hospitals and other healthcare facilities to unprecedented pressure to help COVID-19 patients but also protect their staff, prevent employee burnout and deal with a surge in cyberattacks. The use of virtual health, which was already prevalent before the ongoing health crisis but only reserved for primary care and behavioral health, is expected to improve the overall care experience for patients by leveraging the latest cutting-edge technologies. “In 2020, investors poured $21.6 billion
Banking and Finance news in the MEA market
into digital health companies—more than double the investments made in the prior year and almost four times the amount invested in 2016,” said Mercom Capital Group. Deloitte noted that before 2020, telemedicine was typically seen as a benefit that some employers made available to their workers, but it has since become the de facto means through which clinicians connect with rural populations, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and people who can’t travel to a medical facility. There has also been a surge in dealmaking in the healthcare sector across the Middle East as companies position themselves for improved economic conditions post-pandemic era amid vaccine optimism. Mubadala’s health unit acquired a controlling stake in Abu Dhabi-based United Eastern Medical S er vices (UEMedical) in June 2021 as part of the sovereign wealth fund’s broader strategy to increase its investments in life sciences and medical technology,
