DHAKA, 30 May 2008 — Grameen Healthcare Trust and Saudi German Hospital Group (SGHG) yesterday signed a cooperation agreement for the establishment of a trust to build social business hospitals in Bangladesh, which will bring health services to the poor and disadvantaged.
Several international figures participated at the agreement-signing ceremony that took place at Grameen Bank headquarters here. They included Islamic Development Bank President Ahmad Mohamad Ali and representatives of General Electric Healthcare-USA.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and SGHG President Sobhi Batterjee met in Dubai in January and decided to work together to set up social business hospitals in Bangladesh and beyond.
The trust will be dedicated to providing primary and secondary health care to the people it will serve, particularly the poorest and most disadvantaged. Its activities will include the setting up of companies to establish hospitals, health clinics and other health-related services.
The first hospital to be established by the trust, Al Sabeel-Grameen Hospital, will be a 50-bed hospital. More such hospitals will be built across Bangladesh later under the partnership.
Yunus said: “We are very happy to collaborate with the Saudi German Hospital Group on social business hospitals in Bangladesh. We look forward to our partnership with the Saudi German Hospital Group.”
He said Al Sabeel-Grameen would be built on 10 acres of donated land. He urged people willing to donate land close to Dhaka to contact him.
Batterjee said the Saudi German Hospital Group would bring expertise in building and running hospitals to Bangladesh.
IDB President Ali said the IDB would be an active partner in ensuring the success of this venture.
