Access to health care for all – also known as universal health coverage – is a fundamental part of the United Nations’ Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
Private providers have an important role to play in delivering universal health coverage, frequently representing half or more of the provider capacity in healthcare systems. In India, for example, mixed public-private models are bringing health coverage to people who previously didn’t have access and approximately 60% of inpatient visits are delivered by the private sector.
Though the role of the private sector is vital, it needs to be properly and responsibly managed. At CDC, we’re committed to better understanding the impact of our investments and how best we can contribute to universal health coverage. That’s why, last year, we launched our Healthcare Impact Framework with Imperial College. The publication of this framework has now brought together a global community of healthcare investors determined to ensure that their investments in the sector have a positive impact on universal health coverage.
The Investors for Health community, which was created by CDC, the IFC and the Rise Fund, held its inaugural meeting at the World Innovation Summit for Health last month. More than 20 institutions from around the world, which collectively manage tens of billions in capital, are now part of the group.
Bringing together the community is a direct result of our efforts to take practical steps to introduce the framework and deliver measurable and tangible outcomes.
The next meeting of Investors for Health will be in March 2019 at the IFC Private Healthcare Conference. If anyone would like to attend that meeting, or find out more about the community, please contact Charlotte Davis (cdavis@bii.co.uk).
