Meet the group

PharmAccess is a group of non-profit organizations dedicated to improving access to quality healthcare in Africa. PharmAccess mobilizes public and private resources for the benefit of doctors and patients through clinical standards and quality improvements, loans for healthcare providers, health insurance, mHealth innovations and operational research.

This integrated approach is made possible by the following organizations:

Visit website
Visit website
Visit website
Visit website
Country Offices

 Country Offices

 

Ghana
Kenya
Nigeria
Tanzania
Contact
  • Who we are
  • Our approach
  • News & Publications

PharmAccess Foundation
AHTC, Tower 4C
Paasheuvelweg 25
1105 BP Amsterdam
The Netherlands

T: +31 (0)20 2103920
E: info@pharmaccess.org

  • Who we are
  • Our approach
  • News & Publications
Newsroom

Digitalization key theme at European Development Days 2017

On 7 and 8 June 2017, PharmAccess shared ideas and expertise in two sessions at the European Development Days in Brussels. The sessions focused on harnessing the power of the private sector and on how digital technology can disrupt development.

  • Jun 15, 2017
Suggested reads
  • Apr 13, 2022
    Cabinet Secretary for health, hon. Mutahi Kagwe lauds digital innovations as key to scaling health services to majority of Kenyans
  • Apr 07, 2022
    Maximising the Value of Health Data for Public Good: The Health Data Governance Principles
  • Dec 16, 2021
    Advance alternative financing mechanisms for universal health coverage in Nigeria

The European Development Days (EDD), organized by the European Commission, is Europe’s leading forum on development. Digitalization played a major role in many of this year’s discussions. Andrus Ansip, Vice President for the Digital Single Market in the European Commission, proclaimed that ‘every development project needs to have a digital component.’

Session on digital disruption

PharmAccess hosted a debate on digital disruption of development, which provided not only a tour de horizon of the potential of digital, but also concrete examples of how digital innovations are already driving change in the development arena.

The panel consisted of Hans Docter (Director for Sustainable Development at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Laura Crow (Senior Product Manager M-Pesa at the Vodafone Group), Alec Behrens (Co-founder of Booking.com and founder of Skillslab.tv and 24surgery.com) and Maxwell Antwi (Country Director Ghana at PharmAccess). Alexander Kohnstamm (Director Advocacy at the Joep Lange Institute) moderated the session.

M-Pesa was mentioned repeatedly at EDD as one of those transformational services that the private sector has helped to bring. Recently published research concluded that M-Pesa has led to a 2% poverty reduction across Kenya. Crow emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships. ‘Setting up randomized controlled trials with different groups to demonstrate health impact is very expensive. That’s where the private sector needs to work with the development community to have a better and cost-efficient way of measuring impact. Once the evidence is clear in black and white, it becomes an easier choice for governments to come on board.’

Speaking from personal experience, Antwi laid out some of the challenges in Ghana. ‘Sixteen years ago I graduated from medical school in a class of 80. Just nine of us are still in Ghana. My country currently has only four radiation oncologists – but there are ten Ghanaian radiation oncologists in New York City alone!’

He also described the crucial role of the private sector and some of the products developed to meet a market need in Ghana, such as a digital proxy means testing tool that identifies poor households who are eligible for a premium waiver in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).  On the supply side of the system, the NHIS often has delays in paying out claims to healthcare providers. This especially hits private providers, as they need liquidity to pay out wages or rent. The Medical Credit Fund has developed a receivable financing product that provides an advance on the NHIS claim, delivering cash to providers who have already delivered care but have yet to be paid.

Docter emphasized that the development community needs more disruption. ‘I believe that as development practitioners, if you care about bringing health to people, about being inclusive, about reaching the poor, you have to embrace new digital technology because it makes cheaper options available where they weren’t available before.’ In his view, the future of healthcare in Africa is private. ‘The money we can mobilize from the public sector, development money or from citizens, is only going to be a fraction of what is needed to develop the health infrastructure that is needed in Africa. You need the drive of the private sector to develop these new technologies and to come up with models and then roll them out at a scale where it becomes relevant.’ According to Docter, ‘the uptake of technologies that are cheaper and more reliable will be faster in the private sector rather than within a public system where you need to change the whole system nationwide before you can start implementing.’

Antwi agreed, adding that at the same time it’s imperative to keep the public sector informed. ‘Work with the private sector to generate the evidence. But don’t forget about advocacy and generating political will, because that’s where the limitation often lies. Once the evidence is there, you have to make sure the political economy is ripe enough to be able to take that forward.’

After disrupting the travel industry, Alec Behrens has now set his sights on access to surgical care across the world. He is currently setting up an online streaming platform that allows healthcare professionals to view, share and participate in educational video content – with the aim of building and sharpening surgical skills. He calls it ‘Netflix for surgeons.’ It can help boost quality of care in high-income countries, but more than that it will address a huge skills and resources gap in LMICs. Behrens emphasized that in the end, it’s not just about the technology – it all starts with demand. ‘If the demand doesn’t exist, it’s not going to be national, not international, not disruptive, nothing – because there’s no demand.’

Session on the private sector

The following morning, PharmAccess participated in a session organized by Global Fund and the Stop AIDS Alliance on harnessing the power of the private sector to achieve the health SDG, and the role of public-private partnerships in ending AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The panel consisted of Susan Mboya (President of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation), Louise Van Deth (Executive Director of Aidsfonds), Hans Docter (Director for Sustainable Development at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Ewout Irrgang (Director Advisory Services at PharmAccess). It was moderated by Christoph Benn (Director of External Relations at the Global Fund).

European Development Days

Every year, EDD brings the development community together to share ideas and experiences in ways that inspire new partnerships and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

This year, the dwindling US leadership in the global development landscape, the need for broader alliances and how Europe can try to fill this gap permeated many of the debates at the conference. High-level speakers included the new head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica, and several heads of state, including the president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo.

In his speech during the opening of the conference, Afuko-Addo highlighted the importance of focusing on youth, digitalization and the private sector. ‘Whilst we empower the private sector to create jobs and wealth, my government, recognizing the benefits of the digital revolution, has instituted measures to keep the youth in touch with global trends, and also equip them with the skills, which, together with their sense of enterprise and innovation, will be necessary in Ghana’s economic transformation.’

EDD was also the stage for the signing of the new European Consensus on Development, a collective vision and plan of action to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development.

Share
Tags: Africa Conference credit Digital discussion Ghana Investment Joep Lange Institute Kenya M-pesa M-Tiba Medical Credit Fund private sector seminar
Quickly go to
  • Home
  • Management & Board
  • Our partners
  • Reporting
  • Vacancies
  • Contact
  • Publications
Follow us
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Management & Board
  • Our partners
  • Reporting
  • Vacancies
  • Contact
  • Publications
  • Kenya
  • Nigeria
  • Ghana
  • Tanzania
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • PharmAccess@Medium
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy statement
  • © 2022 PharmAccess Group. All rights reserved.
Our COVID-19 response
To serve you better and more personal we make use of cookies.

Accept
Read more
Change Settings
Cookie Box Settings privacy settings
Cookie Box Settings privacy settings

Privacy settings

Decide which cookies you want to allow. You can change these settings at any time. However, this can result in some functions no longer being available. For information on deleting the cookies, please consult your browser’s help function. Learn more about the cookies we use via our privacy statement.

With the slider, you can enable or disable different types of cookies:

  • Block all
  • Essential
  • Functionality
  • Analytics

This website will:

  • Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
  • Essential: Allow session cookies
  • Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
  • Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
  • Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
  • Essential: Remember language version you selected

This website won't:

  • Remember your login details
  • Functionality: Remember social media settings
  • Functionality: Remember selected region and country
  • Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
  • Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
  • Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
  • Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
  • Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.
  • Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website will:

  • Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
  • Essential: Allow session cookies
  • Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
  • Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
  • Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
  • Essential: Remember language version you selected
  • Functionality: Remember social media settings
  • Functionality: Remember selected region and country

This website won't:

  • Remember your login details
  • Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
  • Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
  • Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
  • Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
  • Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.
  • Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website will:

  • Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
  • Essential: Allow session cookies
  • Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
  • Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
  • Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
  • Essential: Remember language version you selected
  • Functionality: Remember social media settingsl Functionality: Remember selected region and country
  • Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
  • Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
  • Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
  • Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions

This website won't:

  • Remember your login details
  • Advertising: Use information for tailored advertising with third parties
  • Advertising: Allow you to connect to social sites
  • Advertising: Identify device you are using
  • Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website will:

  • Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
  • Essential: Allow session cookies
  • Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
  • Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
  • Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
  • Essential: Remember language version you selected
  • Functionality: Remember social media settingsl Functionality: Remember selected region and country
  • Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
  • Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
  • Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
  • Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
  • Advertising: Use information for tailored advertising with third parties
  • Advertising: Allow you to connect to social sitesl Advertising: Identify device you are using
  • Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website won't:

  • Remember your login details
Save & Close