Afrigather Healthcare in Africa nonetheless has a protracted approach to go earlier than it might adequately cater to the calls for of the continent. There are a number of causes for the present state of the healthcare sector, however underinvestment and a scarcity of obtainable medical doctors have been among the greatest contributors to this downside.
About $25-$30 billion will likely be wanted to assist remedy the healthcare deficit on the continent, according to the IFC. Years of neglect by governments have led to most Africans having to pay by their noses to entry healthcare. In lots of nations, the price of healthcare is closely reliant on external aid and private spending.
The continent additionally has one of many lowest ratios of well being employees (inclusive of physicians, surgeons, nurses, and midwives) to folks on the earth. Based on the WHO, Africa’s ratio is 155:100,000, which is under the beneficial ratio of 445:100,000.
The associated fee and shortage of important healthcare companies have led many Africans to hunt out different options. It’s not uncommon for Africans to deal with themselves at house with conventional drugs or self-recommended medication—with various levels of success.
MyHealth Africa is working to supply an answer. MyHealth Africa is a Kenyan healthtech startup that connects sufferers with native and worldwide well being specialists and hospitals. The platform gives a specialised healthcare reserving platform, a medical administration system, and a affected person concierge service.
The startup has now raised a $1million seed spherical to broaden throughout Africa and enter Asia by way of the Center East and South Asia subsequent 12 months. The spherical was led by the GIIG Africa Fund, with participation from Samurai VC, a household workplace, and present shareholders. The funding comes because the World Startup Awards (GSA) Africa, the unique car for the GIIG Africa Fund to seek out, fund, and scale startups in Africa with SDG-aligned options, named MyHealth Africa because the High HealthTech Startup in Africa in June 2022.
The startup was based in 2017 by Ryan Marincowitz, who informed TechCabal by way of e-mail that though the startup is predicated in Kenya, it has already assisted sufferers from a number of nations worldwide. He went on so as to add that the Center East and South Asia are MyHealth Africa’s most important markets outdoors Africa.
“We help a whole lot of sufferers every month from these markets to entry specialised healthcare companies at our community of main hospitals within the Center East, Europe, South Asia, and Asia. We see these two markets as vital development areas for us within the close to time period, along with persevering with our enlargement throughout Africa,” Marincowitz mentioned.
Based on Marincowitz, over 27,000 sufferers have used the startup’s platform to entry specialised healthcare companies, and MyHealth Africa receives a coordination or facilitation price for every affected person assisted. He added, “The associated fee for the affected person is both the identical as in the event that they have been to go to the medical facility immediately, or in some circumstances, it’s cheaper if the affected person goes by us as we are able to negotiate a reduction.”
After the results of COVID-19, there was a gentle enhance within the variety of healthtech startups which are innovating round Africa’s peculiar issues. African well being startups raised $392 million in funding in 2021, a rise of 81% from the earlier record-breaking 12 months of 2020. The World Financial Discussion board estimates that by 2030, Africa’s healthcare sector will be worth $259 billion.
In a press release shared with TechCabal, Philip Baldwin, the co-founder of GIIG Africa, mentioned, “Throughout the continent, we’ve got seen over the previous few years how know-how and innovation are having an actual affect on the well being and wellness of Africans.” He added that MyHealth Africa’s resolution impressed the fund, and so they determined to assist convey the platform to the world.
