Author:Oxfam International, a non-profit organisation, says patients living in poverty in Africa are bankrupted by private healthcare corporations funded by development finance institutions .
According to Oxfam, DFIs like the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and the European investment bank invest public funds via the private sector to help foster economic development in the majority world and tackle poverty. “Most of these health investments are being “lost from sight” — sub-invested out via a network of financial intermediaries, 80 percent of them located in tax havens like Mauritius, Jersey, and the Cayman Islands.
“Extremes of private hospital chains offering five-star hotel treatment for politicians, sports stars and celebrities at elite prices, through to people being extorted, exploited or excludedCommenting on the report, Anna Marriott, Oxfam International’s health policy lead, said it is more urgent than ever that governments stop the “dangerous diversion of public funds” to private healthcare.