Improving healthcare in our connected world

As I reflect on 2022, I am very proud of the impact our organization has been able to achieve, working with our many partners from the public and private sector. Together, we are creating better health outcomes, especially for vulnerable and low-income people in sub-Saharan Africa. This impact is needed more urgently today than ever before. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the context of increasing pressure on health systems due to climate change, resilience is a priority for healthcare, even more so on the African continent. In the years to come, we can expect more climate-related health emergencies, from infectious and vector-borne diseases to malnutrition. This changing context increases inequalities and threatens the enormous progress made towards universal health coverage (UHC). We therefore urgently need healthcare systems to adapt; business as usual is no longer an option if we are to achieve the goal of achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in 2030, the goal set by the United Nations. At the same time, we are in the middle of huge technological disruption, which is providing opportunities and new ways to approach healthcare. As a catalyst for transformative solutions, our digital care bundles such as MomCare, and digital loans through the Medical Credit Fund, are delivering the first evidence of the power of mobile technology to bring healthcare closer to the community at much lower cost. Further unlocking the potential of transformative system innovations will offer an unprecedented opportunity to provide more healthcare for more patients using available resources. And, importantly, these approaches are putting the patient at the center of their own care, which will continue to be a key feature in our work going forward. Looking to 2023 and beyond, we are close to a tipping point where digital innovations can be brought to scale. We believe that the technological innovation of digital personal connectivity offers great potential for shared services such as healthcare, and this will be a focus for PharmAccess moving forward. Patient centricity enabled by technology is an important part of this, but it also raises concerns, especially around privacy, data ownership, and the rise of artificial intelligence. We will need to answer questions as we move forward with technology: how we can apply these innovations to better meet the healthcare needs of vulnerable people? And how can we ensure the safe implementation of these technological opportunities and the support and trust of citizens? Ongoing collaboration will be key as we continue our work. Thanks to our partnership with the Dutch Government, we are able to stay at the cutting-edge of transformative innovation, focusing on the power of connectivity to achieve UHC. We are very grateful for a seven-year renewal of our partnership, which was granted in 2022. In September, we were also fortunate to welcome longtime partner and friend of PharmAccess Professor Khama Rogo as the new chair of the Supervisory Board for PharmAccess Group. I also want to recognize the importance of women in leadership. Gender inclusion is a topic that’s relevant, not just for me personally and PharmAccess but also globally, and I welcome opportunities to highlight those who are promoting women’s empowerment. In this report, you’ll read about Dr. Olubunmi Jetawo-winter, Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Health Insurance Agency, who we have been working with in Nigeria. We also feature HM Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who visited us in Tanzania, where MomCare is supporting thousands of women and babies. Looking back at our work throughout 2022, I am inspired and grateful. I thank all of our partners for their continued enthusiasm and collaboration. The progress outlined in this report has been achieved by the dedication of the PharmAccess teams: thank you for your commitment to our shared goals. The impossible is possible when we care, together. Nicole Spieker, PharmAccess CEO