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:
The Supervisory Board of PharmAccess Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Spieker as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PharmAccess, effective 1 November 2021.
The Supervisory Board of PharmAccess Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Spieker as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PharmAccess, effective 1 November 2021. Spieker will lead PharmAccess Group into the next phase of its mission to improve healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa, utilizing innovative strategies such as mobile technology, sustainable finance and financial protection for vulnerable and low-income groups.
Earlier this year, current CEO Monique Dolfing-Vogelenzang announced that she would step down after 13,5 years of service. The Supervisory Board has since then undertaken a thorough process to search for the ideal successor, considering both external and internal candidates. In consultation with senior PharmAccess colleagues, Nicole Spieker emerged as the unanimous first choice.
Chairperson Pauline Meurs of the PharmAccess Supervisory Board: ‘’We are very pleased to appoint Nicole as CEO of PharmAccess. Nicole is a healthcare advocate and activist in heart and soul – her wealth of experience in the sector as well as her unmatched understanding of African health markets made her clearly stand out’’.
Nicole Spieker, currently Director of Quality and Director East Africa for PharmAccess, joined PharmAccess in 2009 and initiated SafeCare, PharmAccess’ stepwise certification approach to standardize and improve the quality of healthcare facilities. Under her leadership, SafeCare achieved international recognition and has been used by more than 4500 facilities in 14 countries across the African continent. In 2016 she moved to Kenya where she has led the digital innovation agenda of PharmAccess in East Africa. Together with partner organization CarePay, Spieker stood at the forefront of the roll-out of the mobile health exchange platform M-TIBA, which to date has connected over 4,5 million people to healthcare providers. Spieker holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics and worked at the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, before joining PharmAccess.
Nicole Spieker: ‘’I look forward to working with the team and our partners internationally to further develop our agenda for digital transformation of health systems. Impacting quality and access to care, we are well positioned to support Sub-Saharan Africa in taking the next steps towards achieving universal healthcare coverage. I would like to thank Monique for her leadership and for taking PharmAccess to where it is today: an established name in Africa’s health sector with strong governmental and private partnerships’’.
The Supervisory Board thanks Monique for her invaluable contributions in building PharmAccess and her leadership over the past years. At PharmAccess, Monique co-founded and raised two rounds of capital for the Medical Credit Fund, a social impact fund that provides loans hand in hand with capacity building activities to healthcare SMEs in Africa. She has established key strategic partnerships, led the development of a new digital strategy, and brought successful approaches to scale, which significantly expanded the impact of our work in numerous African countries. Pauline Meurs: “Leaving PharmAccess behind in very strong shape, we wish Monique all the best in the future. She has been an exemplary leader and we will very much miss her drive, empathy and decisiveness.” Monique will continue to make impact as Board Member and Impact Investing Advisor.
Images: top right: Nicole Spieker. Bottom: Monique Dolfing-Vogelenzang (l) and Nicole Spieker.
