Medicine in Africa Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

Revolutionising African Healthcare: Pharma Distribution, Private Hospitals, and Telemedicine

13May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine, Tech

Revolutionising African Healthcare: Pharma Distribution, Private Hospitals, and Telemedicine

By Marion Jeng, Associate at DAI Magister With just 15% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for 50% of global deaths from communicable diseases. The African healthcare system grapples with a multitude of challenges that hinder the delivery of quality care to its population. One of the most pressing issues is the severe shortage of healthcare professionals. According to the World Health Organisation as of 2022, the African region has only 1.55 healthcare workers per 1,000 population, far below the WHO threshold density of 4.45 per 1,000 needed to deliver essential health services and achieve universal health coverage. This scarcity of trained medical staff puts an immense strain on the already overburdened healthcare infrastructure. Moreover, the distribution of healthcare faciliti...

15Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine

3 Things to Consider When Opening a Medical Practice in Africa

People living in the African continent have traditionally had limited access to modern resources, including quality medical care. This has led dozens of talented medical professionals to uproot and open their very own medical practice in the heart of Africa. While this is a noble pursuit, relocating to an entirely new continent can be a logistical nightmare without proper preparation. If you are considering following suit and opening a medical practice in Africa, you must get your affairs in order first. To help you get your practice up and running sooner, medical professionals like those at ThriveMD have created this list of three things you must consider before making your big move. 1. Develop a Comprehensive Plan As with any other new venture, you should prepare for your relocati...

25Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine

Quality and Patient Care takes centre stage at Africa Health Conference

Upwards of 5000 health professionals and 200 international and regional companies have registered for this year’s Africa Health Conference, which got underway today (Monday). The largest health conference in Africa, this online event brings Africa’s healthcare industry together to discuss and explore innovative new thinking and solutions around Africa’s healthcare challenges. Now in its 10th year, the event includes several multi-specialty conferences with CPD accreditation that provide valuable education and the latest updates in the medical field, as well as an opportunity for vibrant, highly targeted industry networking. The event also provides a platform for healthcare professionals and decision-makers to do business, exchange ideas and learn about the latest product advancements f...

24Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine

Tailor-made solutions needed to build resilient health systems in Africa

The Covid-19 pandemic has placed a severe strain on the health system in the world and many healthcare workers have been stretched far beyond their capacity. For most African countries, balancing a response to the pandemic with the challenges of providing universal health care has highlighted the need for resilient health systems that will address the imperatives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and prompt novel, custom-made solutions for the continent and its people. While the collection and analysis of data across the region has enabled some of the continent’s success stories to be showcased, experts agree that the health system challenges faced by the region span over the financial, political and socio-economic spheres and that addressing them will take a multi-faceted and Afri...

3Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine, South Africa News

The Future of Work in Healthcare: five insights on how technology can help realise health equity

How can new digital ways of working in the healthcare sector improve outcomes for patients to increase global health equity in the COVID-19 era and beyond? And do we have reason to be optimistic? These were the questions tackled by a panel of globally recognised health-tech experts in a recent webinar for the African healthcare community. Hosted by BroadReach Group CEO Chris LeGrand, an internationally recognised leader in public health management, the webinar was joined by panelists Dr John Sargent, the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Social Entrepreneur of the Year, health technology innovator and co-founder of BroadReach, Dr Andrew Kambugu, Executive Director at the Infectious Diseases Institute at Makerere University in Uganda and Rochelle Mountany, a senior manager and health industry ad...

10Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine, South Africa News

New study on the causes of Cerebral Palsy may have far-reaching impact on medico-legal outcomes

A new paper on Cerebral Palsy, published in the South African Medical Journal, challenges commonly held views on the subject and suggests that the causes of this tragic condition may be far more complex and multi-faceted. Commonly held assumptions that CP arises as a direct result of preventable adverse events during childbirth inform the current paradigm within South African medico-legal cases, in which the focus is almost exclusively on events during childbirth (intrapartum events). Among the paper’s findings are that intrapartum trauma may constitute the final link in a complex chain of pathophysiological processes that lead to brain injury and ultimately CP. In many cases this causal pathway could depend on (among other things) genetic factors, as well as adverse circumstances and even...

South Africa. How Designated Service Providers Help In Making Medical Aid More Affordable

7Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine, South Africa News

South Africa. How Designated Service Providers Help In Making Medical Aid More Affordable

With healthcare inflation continually on the increase, medical schemes must find ways to keep contributions as affordable as possible for their members while still ensuring that they receive quality of care. One of these ways is through negotiation with groups of hospitals, doctors and pharmacies for better tariffs in return for directing members their way. These groups then become the scheme’s Designated Service Providers (DSP). The Health Funders Association explains the ins and outs of DSPs and why they are important to medical schemes and their members: Medical schemes are not-for-profit organizations which provide a mechanism to assist medical scheme members in funding their healthcare providers for medical care rendered. Medical schemes are similar to trust funds or stokvels, whe...

10Jun

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine, South Africa News

$3 Million Pre-Series A Round Leads to New Digital Primary Care Platform for Africa

Following a pre-Series A round of USD 3 million, Webrock, the investment company that brought the number one digital health app in Brazil to South America, and Healthforce, a digital health company majority-owned by South Africa’s leading retail pharmacy chain Dis-Chem, will be taking the cutting-edge technology behind the second most downloaded doctor app in Europe, Doktor.se, to Africa. Doing so will provide the continent with a complete digital primary care platform. It will first be launching in South Africa, with a further continent-wide roll-out planned. The platform, which makes use of a freemium model and innovative approaches to reduce data costs, offers on-demand and scheduled consultations with nurses, general practitioners, and mental health professionals, while also providing ...

25May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine, South Africa News

Govt urged to embrace the power of tech in delivery of primary healthcare for all

Research released this week show the real potential that technology has in the effective delivery of primary healthcare services across South Africa. The research, says trans-disciplinary health consultancy Percept, should be used as a road map to better healthcare services for all in the country. “We looked at practical examples from across Africa and researched how other countries used technology in their specific environments. Our work shows that a lot can be achieved despite existing problems such as poor technological literacy, poor uptake of smartphone capabilities, or poor power supply,” says Shivani Ranchod, CEO of Percept. “We will be sharing our findings with key stakeholders in the health sector and hope that it will be valuable for their work to improve healthcare service deli...

30Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine, South Africa News, Startups

SA startup, AURA, on what it takes to go global

AURA, South Africa’s leading security and medical response platform, recently announced its expansion into Kenya, followed closely by a move into the UK where it aims to have over 10,000 users receiving the company’s service within seven months. Later this year, the startup will look at possible expansions in Mexico and Nigeria. Warren Myers, AURA’s CEO believes that South African startups can compete with the best in the world thanks to a focus on smart innovations that answer real-world issues. “The biggest problems in the world are starting to feel fixable for the first time in history. Many people are still unaware of just what will be achievable with hyperscale technology tools like AI, IoT, blockchain, and nanotechnology, among others,” notes Myers. He adds that startups have a uniq...