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Health Care

The world population is aging. What is a developed world problem is now also becoming a developing world problem, as birth rates decline and life expectancies increase in virtually all countries of the world. Demand for healthcare is therefore projected to expand significantly for many decades to come in both developed and developing countries due to the increasingly older global population.

Even among the younger population of the world, persistent high rates of obesity in the developed world combined with rapidly rising rates of obesity in the developing world is resulting in increased healthcare spending. Diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure related medical expenses are growing worldwide.

Exacerbating the above two trends is the fact that the cost of newer drugs tends to be extremely high, and patent regulations imply years to decades before cheaper generic replacements can come to market.

In much of the developed world, free or subsidized national health care programs cushion the negative financial fallout from chronic health problems. In the developing world, such options are largely nonexistent. Moreover, in many developing countries, both health care infrastructure and private health care insurance options are abysmal. This situation is changing however, as foreign investors look to find attractive investment opportunities in the developing world’s healthcare sectors.

Groundbreaking discoveries in stem cell related research, genetics and biotechnology portend favorably for a healthier world in the coming decades.