Dear subscriber,
The story is often the same when I’ve been to remote African communities. Bringing healthcare to local patients is an exercise in imperfection. Something is always missing. There are plenty of good new ideas in circulation. But few places seem to manage to combine them. A consultation may be available, but getting a test or treatment can still mean another journey.
Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor
Mobile clinics and telemedicine help extend healthcare across Africa, but both have challenges. Mobile teams face difficult roads and staff shortages. Telemedicine depends on connectivity and cannot perform physical tests. Zimbabwe has now launched a hybrid model with mobile screening and remote consultations to improve rural care.
NetOne and ZimSmart Villages introduced solar-powered, Starlink-enabled three-wheeler health kiosks. The model pairs nurses conducting assessments and basic screening by remote clinicians. ZimSmart’s wider telehealth platform also offers specialist consultations.
Zimbabwe brings a new approach to rural communities through smaller, nurse-led units and offers healthcare providers a way to extend screening and consultations beyond permanent facilities.
Our take: A village may need regular healthcare without having enough patients to sustain a permanent clinic. A mobile team serving several villages, backed by remote doctors, could make those communities commercially viable to serve…Read more (2 min)
Retail pharmacies already serve customers who need more than drugs. Offering basic tests and follow-up care can expand their business, but requires investment in equipment and trained staff. Executive healthcare adviser Kemi Agbebi argues that philanthropy should finance such upgrades and the stock that keeps pharmacies running.
“The future of African healthcare does not lie in building more centralised fortresses of care but in decentralisation. And the most powerful, underutilised node for this decentralised network is already sitting on your street corner: the retail pharmacy,” says Mrs Agbebi.
She proposes equipment leasing and digital links to insurers to support broader services, with regulations allowing trained pharmacists to take on more primary care.
Read the full opinion…Read more (2 min)
Jhpiego accounts for 11 of the 36 mid-level and senior open healthcare roles in this roundup, including ten in Tanzania. Its recruitment supports a US-funded programme on maternal and child healthcare, and malaria services in Tanzania. There are 25 other mid-level and senior healthcare vacancies across Africa.
Last Mile Health follows Jhpiego with five roles across four countries, including health financing advisers in Ethiopia, Malawi and Sierra Leone.
inSupply Health and Clinton Health Access Initiative each list four positions, covering finance and project leadership, country management and medical oxygen delivery.
Full list of jobs…Read more (2 min)
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Pooled procurement programme registers 89 manufacturers from 15 countries
Events
🗓️ Attend the Future of Health Conference in Nigeria (Oct 29)
🗓️ Join the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Annual National Conference (Nov 2)
🗓️ Participate in the Global Health Supply Chain Summit in Ethiopia (Nov 17)
Various
💉 Zambia and US sign $2.49 billion health financing agreement
💉 African Digital Health Networks names 20 healthtech startups to watch
💉 Funding shortfalls threaten specialised medical care for refugees in Chad
Seen on LinkedIn
Dr Funmi Adewara, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mobihealth International, says, “Imagine the impact if telehealth were fully integrated into national healthcare strategies, backed by clear reimbursement mechanisms through public health insurance and government programmes.”