Dear subscriber,
Millions of Africans face gaps in medical care and protection from the consequences of climate shocks, but the solutions can be relatively simple.
Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor
Microsoft has partnered with Kenyan health-technology startup Zendawa to deploy an online AI tool for the management of independent pharmacies. The system digitises sales data, expiry tracking, demand forecasting and order routing. The rollout targets neighbourhood pharmacies, a core layer of last-mile medicine delivery in Africa.
Independent pharmacies are the first stop for basic outpatient care. This makes them central to last-mile delivery, but also exposes them directly to supply disruptions and operational inefficiencies.
Most pharmacies still rely on manual systems and struggle with inventory management, contributing to financial weakness that limits availability of essential medicines.
Our take: Digitising pharmacy operations across the continent helps to reduce the global health equity gap…Read more (2 min)
A 2025 Lancet Countdown policy paper on health and climate change in Africa shows that in 2023, at least 15,000 people died from extreme weather, waterborne diseases increased by 50%, air pollution killed millions and 7 million children under five were malnourished. Despite the evidence, climate is rarely treated as a core health priority.
In an interview, Prof Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, Director of the Lancet Countdown Africa Centre, reflects on why political recognition has lagged behind science. “Climate change is a health emergency. The fact that those in positions of power have not formally declared it as such does not change that reality,” Prof Mabhaudhi says.
He argues that without placing health at the centre of climate responses, preventable health losses will continue to rise across the continent.
Read the full Q&A…Read more (2 min)
GSK, a British multinational pharmaceutical company, expanded its senior Africa workforce by 13%, or 436 employees, in the past year, according to LinkedIn data. The total staff stands at 3,840. The fastest-growing skills were in clinical research, a growth that can be attributed to an ongoing clinical trial of a malaria vaccine in Rwanda.
The trial, which is in its second phase, started in June 2025 and is evaluating the dosing and scheduling of a second-generation malaria vaccine.
The current malaria vaccine protects only at the parasite’s early stage while the new vaccine provides the first ever attempt to protect across multiple lifecycle stages.
Our take: More pharmaceutical trials in Africa are making local manufacturing possible…Read more (2 min)
____________________
The World Health Organization and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations support training for Somalia’s health workers on new guidelines to protect children from malnutrition
Events
🗓️ Attend the Regional Global Health Security Summit in Kenya (January 27)
🗓️ Participate in World Health Summit in Kenya (April 27)
🗓️ Register for the Africa Health Business in Kenya (April 21)
Various
💉 Value of pharma imports in Kenya down 22pc on shift to cheaper products
💉 Nigeria grows as a key destination to India’s pharmaceuticals
💉 What $2.5 billion Gates’ investment in women's health will do
Seen on LinkedIn
Kofi Abaya, a Medical Doctor, says, Most often, young people have been viewed merely as "beneficiaries" of health programs. But Africa’s journey toward health security and sovereignty, achieving independence in manufacturing, domestic financing, and emergency response, cannot happen without its greatest resource( its youth).”_________________