CARE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH
THE OPEC FUND’S
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated to the world the fundamental importance of public health, the OPEC Fund had made healthcare a priority. Over the years, the Fund has provided more than US$1.1 billion to the sector in its partner countries, supporting the development of primary to tertiary healthcare and training facilities, manufacturing medical supplies and increasing hospital beds
A
t the start of the pandemic, the OPEC Fund committed US$1
billion to support the rapid response to the crisis and economic rebuilding efforts. Nearly all of these funds have now been committed. But the massive mobilization in
response to the unprecedented public health crisis has confronted many governments with a new problem, says Sharagim Shams, Senior Country Manager for Eastern and Southern Africa in the OPEC Fund’s Public Sector Operations Department: “If you have to put most of your resources into fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,
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then you may be forced to neglect the standard healthcare that people also need.” The longer-term responsibility for the OPEC Fund and its partner governments and development institutions is now to rebalance priorities and strengthen countries’ broader healthcare capacity. Much as the public sector has
been at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, it will also lead the healthcare sector during the recovery phase. It is the conduit for the majority of the OPEC Fund’s investments in the sector, attracting almost 77 percent of the
Fund’s healthcare financing to date. The Fund’s Public Sector Operations Department will continue to cooperate with countries to identify projects that best meet their needs and conform with its mandate to promote partner countries’ socio-economic development. This is especially urgent in Africa, which in its sub-Saharan region still only spends just over five percent of total GDP on healthcare (around 50 percent lower than the world average). African governments often have to operate within fiscal constraints that reduce their own ability to invest
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