A new privately-run hospital supported by the World Bank’s private sector arm, the IFC, is threatening to bankrupt the health budget of one of the poorest and least-healthy countries in the world. The Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital in Lesotho is the first of its kind in any low-income country in the world – built, financed and run entirely as a “public-private partnership.” The IFC considers it one of the flagships for the future of African health care...Oxfam and the Lesotho Consumer Protection Association (LCPA) say that the running and loan costs of the...complex in the capital Maseru have blown out to...51% of Lesotho’s health budget. This is three times more expensive than the old hospital it replaced...Oxfam fears the deal is skewing resources away from the poorest people, especially in rural areas, and will expose Lesotho to future cost escalations too. A consortium called Tsepong Ltd [joint venture Netcare & Govt. of Lesotho]...[receives a] return on investment [of] 25%.