Three firms have come together to explore the enhancement of access to healthcare for non-communicable diseases through mobile phone technology.
International NGO PharmAccess, tech firm CarePay and international biopharmaceutical company Sanofi on November 6 announced a partnership dubbed Ngao Ya Afya (“Shield for Health”) that aims to facilitate access to better diabetes and hypertension care in Kenya.
The program banks on a low cost, mobile technology enabled model, and aims to show how access to diabetes and hypertension care for individuals and their families across some of the most deprived regions can be increased.
According to a statement released by Sanofi, the partnership is committed to advancing patient access to care by testing new solutions to support government and private players address healthcare affordability and financing challenges.
The partnership will also rely on the viability of M-Tiba, the mobile tech healthcare platform developed by CarePay and which landed the company on this year’s World Economic Forum list of Technology Pioneers.
PharmAccess Kenya Country Director Isaiah Okoth said mobile solutions are crucial for scale up of non-communicable diseases (NCD) care in Kenya and in low-middle income countries in general.
Head of Sanofi in Africa Jon Fairest, said, “Ngao Ya Afya is a good example of collaboration using mobile phones to provide services for patients. We look forward to engaging with government, private payers and other stakeholders to make Ngao Ya Afya sustainable in Kenya.”
Carepay CEO Kees Van Lede added, “You can see the devastating effect of NCDs on many families in Kenya, as care drains scarce resources and impacts on the future prospects of the whole family. M-TIBA enables direct targeting of groups that need support the most. The insights into healthcare usage and the quality of delivery are critical for designing effective and long-lasting solutions.”
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