World Bank

Patients living in poverty in the Global South are being bankrupted by private healthcare corporations backed by multi-million-dollar investments from development finance institutions (DFIs) run by the UK, French, German and other rich country governments. DFIs like the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) invest public funds via the private sector to help foster economic development in the Global South and tackle poverty. However, Oxfam published two investigations on DFI funding into private hospital chains and other for-profit healthcare corporations operating in low- and middle-income countries and found cases of them.   

We call on the World Bank President and Executive Directors to take immediate action to stop the continued abuse, rights violations and unethical practice. 

Oxfam response to new revelations from Bloomberg about harmful private hospital investments backed by development banks. 

Oxfam is deeply alarmed by the ICIJ's findings, which once again show how the World Bank Group and other publicly funded development banks are bankrolling a brutal model of private healthcare that excludes and exploits patients and prioritizes profits over human lives.

Billionaire wealth has risen three times faster in 2024 than 2023. Five trillionaires are now expected within a decade.

Billionaire wealth grew by $2 trillion in 2024 alone, equivalent to roughly $5.7 billion a day, at a rate three times faster than the year before. An average of nearly four new billionaires were minted every week. Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990, according to World Bank data.

Billionaire wealth has risen three times faster in 2024 than in 2023. At least five trillionaires are now expected within a decade. Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990. Inequality is out of control.

In response to the publication today of Bloomberg’s investigation into human rights abuses alleged to have been committed in private hospitals.

We, the undersigned, are calling for a stop to funding from Development Finance Institutions to private for-profit healthcare providers. Mounting evidence shows that this funding is going to expensive out-of-reach private hospitals and clinics in low- and middle-income countries that are widening healthcare inequalities, exacerbating poverty and gender-based discrimination and violating human rights. Far from advancing progress towards Universal Health Coverage as governments have committed, this form of development finance is undermining it. 
 

In October 2024, Oxfam published “Climate Finance Unchecked,” a report diving into a significant oversight in the World Bank’s climate finance record-keeping. Specifically, the Bank’s method estimates climate finance only at the time projects are approved, with no assessment of climate finance when projects close. This might not seem like a big deal, but it’s common for projects to change during implementation —for example, adjustments to budgets, timelines and objectives. We’ve put together a short FAQ to explain what we found and why it matters.