Day Two Afternoon: Wednesday, 12 May 2004

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GCC-ME Summit I:
Day One, Evening
Day Two, Morning
Day Two, Afternoon
Day Three, Morning
Day Three, Early
Afternoon
The Venue
A Glimpse of Beirut
Partners

GCC-ME Summit II:
Day One, Evening
Day Two, Morning
Day Two, Afternoon
Day Two, Evening
Day Three, Morning
The Venue
Partners

Plenary Session: Options for Financing Medical Care in the region

The pharmaceutical industry of the Middle East has long been handled by the private sector, with governmental agencies as their primary client. Slow to develop, the in-country production of medical supplies, vaccines and sera has gathered momentum of late, particularly with the call to national or regional self-sufficiency in these sectors. At the same time, many countries in the region do not have access to the latest therapeutics from abroad. Innovations that come on line in other parts of the world may take months or years to reach those in need in the region. This session will explore strategies for increasing access to the latest treatments while exploring which of those treatments The healthcare sector in the Middle East has now a unique opportunity in the history of the region to switch from the voluntary, community-led, charitable-organizations that provided medical care in the fifties and sixties, to for-profit, proprietary, investor-led systems. The impetus for the development of the private sector has been the State itself by paying for patients to be treated at private facilities at advantageous tariffs.

The region is therefore already at the next stage of evolution: opportunities for private investment in healthcare, and public-private partnership, are not now limited to the provision of medical services. Innovation is now burgeoning in medical schools, hospitals and other institutions on a regional basis.

Plenary Session: What are the key advances in therapeutics for the region?

The pharmaceutical industry of the Middle East has long been handled by the private sector, with governmental agencies as their primary client. Slow to develop, the in-country production of medical supplies, vaccines and sera has gathered momentum of late, particularly with the call to national or regional self-sufficiency in these sectors.

At the same time, many countries in the region do not have access to the latest therapeutics from abroad. Innovations that come on line in other parts of the world may take months or years to reach those in need in the region. This session will explore strategies for increasing access to the latest treatments while exploring which of those treatments are most applicable on a regional level.