Questions and Answers

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Why did IFC do this report, what was the goal, and where is it available?

What are the key findings?

How is IFC responding to the findings? What are the main elements of IFC’s strategy?


Why is IFC involved in health care? Isn’t that what governments do?


Does the report advocate privatizing health care systems in Africa? Does IFC advocate that?

Many in the public health community oppose private sector involvement in health. What is IFC's view?

What will prevent medical professionals in public sector hospitals from leaving for better-paying jobs in the private sector?

Doesn’t Africa’s private health sector mainly serve the rich?

Do private sector clinics and hospitals offer free or subsidized services for Africa’s poor?

What is IFC’s view on user fees in health care?

Is collaborating with foundations a new trend for IFC? How is the Gates Foundation involved in this report?

Who is your target audience? What kind of partners are you looking for?

What organizations do you expect will participate in the equity vehicle?

What kinds of opportunities do you see for investors?

What kind of investors do you think will be needed to grow the region’s private health sector?

Why do life sciences matter in Sub-Saharan Africa?

• Access to high-quality and affordable medicines remains a critical challenge in the region, where pharmaceuticals are the largest household expenditure on health care (ranging from 50 percent to close to 90 percent of a family’s total expenses). Making quality medicines and diagnostics more available and affordable will play a vital role in improving health and combating the deadly diseases—HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis—that account for an enormous physical and economic burden in many parts of Africa.

• IFC’s life sciences strategy in Africa directly addresses this situation. We support companies focusing on products to combat major communicable diseases, innovative firms that are researching and discovering novel medicines and diagnostics, and manufacturers of generic medicines that help lower consumer costs.

• A recent investment shows IFC’s strategy in action. IFC is providing long-term financing to Advanced Bio-Extracts Limited, a Kenyan firm that is the region’s first to start commercial growth and extraction of artemisia, a plant that yields the active ingredient in a new generation of malaria medicines. Endemic in much of Africa, malaria causes an estimated 2 million deaths a year and disproportionately affects children and pregnant women. Artemisinin-based medicines have become the preferred treatment option, with less resistance, a shorter treatment regimen, and fewer side effects than traditional drugs. IFC’s investment supports cultivation of artemisia and the construction of a new processing facility, making a high-quality raw material from Africa available for medicines to treat Africans.