Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, has launched ‘In Reach Africa’ program, aimed at facilitating quality and innovative human and animal healthcare across the African continent.
The program, set to kick off in Kenya and expand throughout major African markets including Nigeria, Ghana,Ethiopia,Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Rwanda, comprises a range of key elements that aim at adding more value to overall health systems.
This is is an effort to drive access to care, support with the development of innovative health solutions, creating community-based partnerships and raising awareness around key disease areas as well as prevention mechanisms.
A delegate of senior executives from Boehringer Ingelheim’s global network recently arrived in Kenya to inaugurate ‘In Reach Africa’ by participating in a series of activities and workshops.
“‘In Reach Africa’ shares a vision of driving accessibility, sustainability and innovation through enhancing health systems in Africa by providing an accessible range of medication and healthcare solutions, increasing awareness of key disease priorities through reach and enriching knowledge and education initiatives,” said Yew LooiLiew, Head of Corporate Division Prescription Medicine Emerging Markets at Boehringer Ingelheim.
Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are a silent epidemic in low and middle-income countries, which account for 75 per cent of global NCDs deaths. Africa is expected to experience 3.9 million NCD-related deaths a year by 2020, a rise of more than 20 per cent.
“Accordingly, we need to commit ourselves as an organization to working together with all other healthcare players to build an infrastructure that is sustainable, and one which can ensure needed therapies are available in even the most remote areas. At Boehringer Ingelheim, we believe that everyone should have access to good health, no matter where they live,” said Yew LooiLiew.
Enrique Manzoni, Regional Managing Director – Middle East, Turkey, Africa (META) at Boehringer Ingelheimsaid: “At the heart of this program is creating more awareness around key health issues being for humans or animals, facilitating accessibility to medication as well as developing innovative healthcare solutions. Following a thorough assessment of the current landscape across the region, ‘In Reach Africa’ has been developed to partner with multiple key local stakeholders to empower the health systems and individuals alike to establish a sustainable and holistic approach that connects to human and animal health priorities across the African continent.”
MMH is a global initiative developed in partnership between Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka, a global non-governmental organisation, aimed at creating social impact.
It is the core driver of social entrepreneurship, innovation and co-creation for Boehringer Ingelheim in Africa and across the world by developing a range of approaches that aim to improve health outcomes.
Through MMH in Kenya, Boehringer Ingelheim and Askoka supported iSikCure, an application developed to improve access to quality care and safe medicine. In 2017, Boehringer Ingelheim, in partnership with Access Afya and PharmAccess, launched AkibaYaRoho, a micro-savings program geared towards driving more healthcare awareness and overall understanding and management of non-communicable disease in some rural areas within Kenya.
