As pandemic rages, Business France spies opportunity in North African health sector

摘要

Business France has organised a workshop for 3 November for manufacturers seeking to establish themselves in the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) health sector in North Africa. After a presentation of the general economic situation in the region, doctors specialising in NCDs (diabetes, hypertension, and cancer inter alia) will focus on the needs of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria in the sector. This will be followed up with virtual meetings with teams from Business France, the state agency that helps French firms develop projects abroad, which will seek to identify business opportunities. And there appears to be no shortage of opportunities. In Tunisia, nearly one in ten people has diabetes and more than one in four suffers from hypertension. Algeria and Morocco both have more than 10 million cases of hypertension and have recorded an increase of more than 45,000 cases of cancer per year. Various strategies to combat NCDs have been implemented in recent years but have resulted in little noticeable improvement in the health situation. Which may well be a godsend for firms like Sanofi- Aventis, Servier and Pierre Fabre, as well as for laboratories specialising in diabetes and hypertension.