NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, June 15, 2015

Ethiopia offered 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) facility to India for setting up hospitals and other healthcare facilities in Ethiopia. The host country will acquire land for Indian entrepreneurs and offer other incentives and tax facilities as well.

Addressing a summit on ‘India: The Future Global Healthcare Hub’ under the aegis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ambassador of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Gennet Zewide said, “Many patients travel from Ethiopia and other African countries for super critical care facilities.” He also informed that Ethiopia intends to explore the country for setting up of a host of medical services including concessional land and bunch of incentives including holidays schemes to suitably protect the Indian investments in the health sector.

The summit also saw a vast majority of African diplomats from countries such as Republic of Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Gambia who were also participating in summit, demand that facilitation centres for visiting patients and their relatives from African countries be set up in Indian metropolis with super critical facilities to ensure that they are not fleeced by hospital owners due to excessive over invoicing. They allege that visiting patients in need of best of medical facilities fall prey to touts, middle men and brokers who recommend nursing homes making false claims.

Apart from Ethiopia other diplomats such as High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda Ernest Rwamucyo; Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal El Hadj Ibou Boye; Ambassador of Zimbabwe Mawxell Ranga; Minister Commercial Bureau, Embassy of Arab Republic of Egypt Mongy Badr; Counsellor, High Commission of Gambia Alieu Bah, also raised the issue.