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The World’s Largest Medical Tradeshow
And… I’m not talking about Medica in Dusseldorf — no, the largest medical tradeshow in the world is none other than Arab Health in Dubai, with over 130,000 attendees from all corners of the world.
It’s not a new tradeshow, nor has it ever been obscure, however the fact that it has radically eclipsed Medica as the largest, is a testament to some of the larger changes we are seeing in both the region, and the world. As an anecdote, one of the longstanding exhibitors I spoke with will shift their entire Medica budget to Arab Health from next year.
Reflecting on the region the event was held in, it was certainly one of many contrasts — the GCC is one of the wealthiest places on this planet both in absolute and per capita terms, yet access to health is a massive problem, especially outside of the capital cities (there is even a place in Saudi Arabia called ‘The Empty Quarter’).
Moreover, the region is situated at the intersection of Africa, Europe and Asia, and the composition of the attendees clearly reflected this. There were buyers from countries where I had never actually met a person from (e.g. Guinea-Bissau), who all knew what they were doing and what they were…
