LEVERAGING THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION
EHEALTH AFRICA & EHA CLINICS
Nigeria’s New Age Healthcare eHealth Africa and EHA Clinics are leveraging the power of technology and information to enable more efficient, targeted provision of vital services across Nigeria, including key support in the fight against COVID-19 Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Callam Waller 2 | Africa Outlook issue 84
HEALTHCARE
D
ata is the new oil, the information age, the fourth industrial revolution. These are all sayings that, even a decade ago, were not staples of conversations. In 2009, for example, there were around 234 million websites that populated the World Wide Web, and around 247 billion emails were sent or received every day.
Fast-forward to the present day, and you cannot avoid data in almost every aspect of home and working life. More than two billion websites now make up the internet, while estimates suggest that more than 347 billion emails will be sent each day by 2023. The past two years alone have seen data centres’ share of global power consumption rise by a factor of four, the process
of simply storing our information now using up well over one percent of the world’s electricity. In the healthcare sphere, the power of data translates into saving lives, something which Adam Thompson, the Executive Director of eHealth Africa and CEO of EHA Clinics, has been pioneering in Nigeria for more than 10 years. Africa Outlook issue 84 | 3
EHEALTH AFRICA & EHA CLINICS
Adam Thompson, CEO
ABOUT EHEALTH AFRICA Established in 2009, eHealth Africa’s work centres around building stronger health systems in Nigeria and the wider region, with a particular focus on bringing healthcare to underserved communities through leveraging the power of technology, enabling providers to make data-driven decisions. Today it has offices in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Germany and the United States, its projects reaching many countries, including Chad, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger, among others. For example, its team manages the Nigeria-wide Ebola response projects for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Ebola-affected African hot zone. To discover more about eHealth Africa’s reach and impact, explore the latest Annual Impact Report.
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It is an unlikely journey from Santa Cruz and the University of California, but one which has resulted in the creation of a truly life-changing business for many thousands of Nigerian and other African citizens. “This all stemmed from my university work with fellow co-founder Evelyn Castle,” Thompson recalls. “We were looking at how data and new technologies can improve the way that public health services are delivered, chiefly through giving them more information. “We launched with that initial framework and developed solutions such as medical records systems so providers could access more real-time data and, ultimately, make better and faster decisions. The initial impact was substantial as it immediately removed the need to delve through piles of paper records, plus we could refer patients, for example pregnant women, before any complications, as the information was there and in real time.” The mission of eHealth Africa, put simply, is to build stronger health systems through the design and implementation of data-driven solutions that respond to local needs, and provide underserved communities with tools to lead healthier lives. Founded as a small-scale operation in 2009, the organisation has swelled to a team of 500 skilled personnel all over the country, eHealth Africa now building systems for other health agencies and conducting programmes which cover the full spectrum of wellness, from HIV treatment to advice on nutrition.
PLUGGING THE GAP In 2018, Thompson and eHealth Africa broadened their horizons by setting up EHA Clinics, a new venture whose formation was partly a result of trying to improve the welfare of their own staff. Such was the size and scale of the firm in 2018, the cost of insuring its several hundred employees led Thompson
Beacon Consulting Ltd For over five years, Beacon Consulting has supported eHealth Africa’s programme implementation through the provision of robust enterprise security risk management and intelligence services in security challenged environments in Nigeria (including the inaccessible locations in the north), Chad, DRC, South Sudan, Cameroon, and Niger. Security-challenged communities are the most vulnerable and are often neglected. We enable eHealth Africa to fill this gap by managing risks and supporting a flexible and resilient security. We take pride in the 100 percent success rate we have had with eHealth Africa in over five years (zero casualties to eHealth Africa assets). The diversity of eHealth Africa over 500 staff and varied project locations brought to the fore the importance of having a diverse and inclusive workforce. We have learned that embracing diversity can help us thrive in different locations, and can result in better problem-solving for our team. “Beacon Consulting has been at the forefront of ensuring safe operations for eHealth Africa, across Nigeria, for over five years. The company provides eHealth Africa with holistic security risk management and advisory services, specifically in areas of physical security, terrorism, communal conflicts, political instability, and transportation safety. Over the years, Beacon Consulting’s expertise and guidance has enabled eHealth Africa to build resilience and allow its operations, interventions, and core activities to continue smoothly in complex environments. The partnership has been successful, with a 99 percent satisfaction score for Beacon Consulting’s commitment to the safety and security of eHealth Africa’s personnel and assets” – Adam Thompson & Evelyn Castle EDs/Co-Founders, eHealth Africa We look forward to continued success with eHealth Africa and other organisations looking to safely and securely execute projects across Africa.
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Effective and Efficient Security Risk Management for Security Compromised Environments Beacon Consulting is a security risk management and intelligence consulting company. At Beacon Consulting our take off point is the recognition that in Nigeria’s vast and dynamic environment is a plethora of business challenges and opportunities. We often operate in challenging environments and in cultures that are unfamiliar to our clients. Following our humanist principles, all of our Projects are undertaken with the utmost discretion and respect for the local conditions and communities in which we operate.
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EHEALTH AFRICA & EHA CLINICS
Karmod Nigeria Limited Karmod Nigeria Limited recognises the ease and convenience of emerging innovative technology in building construction globally and has aligned with this innovative drive to increase value in building. Our prefabricated building types are designed to meet diverse building functions fit for purpose and with passion, focus, commitment, we have successfully completed numerous projects in and across Nigeria. As a company with a desire of total localisation of the technologies, we have actively invested in local content development and with a firm resolve to local industry development of the Nigerian dream. Karmod Nigeria will be glad to partner with you in delivering convenient buildings tailored to meet huge housing benefits and solutions.
EHA CLINICS – KEY SERVICES • Comprehensive care • In-house pharmacy • Mobile pharmacy • Onsite lab • Urgent care • Pediatric primary care • Telehealth service • Telespecialist consultation • Homecare service • Emergency evacuation services • Dental care • Eye care • 24/7 call center • Minor procedures • COVID-19 testing and treatment
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and his team to investigate what provision their investment was actually delivering for staff and their families. Their conclusion was that there were some serious gaps to be filled, and that they could do something about it. The CEO adds: “We wanted to improve the picture and address poorly equipped facilities and a lack of quality management systems and training. The benchmark was creating a model that we would be happy for our employees to go to for good quality treatment. “The pilot therefore centred around primary care for our own people in a bid to build a proof of concept that could be rolled out in the private sector. We received a lot of external demand to access the same services our staff were receiving, and it has grown from there.” Today there are three EHA Clinics that serve as a one-stop shop for consultation, diagnosis and pharmacy services backed up by onsite labs, underpinned by sophisticated
technology that enables the safe and secure flow of patient data to enable providers to make the right medical decisions – the exact reason why eHealth was set up in the first place. Thompson outlines ambitious plans to expand the number of clinics in existing and new Nigerian cities, while also looking into more specialist centres (for emergencies or cancer treatment, for instance) located in areas where they are needed the most. “We’re also looking at options and seeking investment to build a larger hospital-scale facility that can cater for a wide spectrum of treatments,” Thompson says. “At the other end of the scale, we’re looking at how to bring healthcare closer to people. So, as well as these large facilities, we want to set up smaller, almost retail-like outlets in key locations with a large footfall to capture those who would go to a pharmacy, where they may in fact need more specialist help.”
HEALTHCARE
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Africa Outlook issue 84 | 7
EHEALTH AFRICA & EHA CLINICS RISING TO A NEW CHALLENGE Other ways of delivering healthcare closer to the patient include recently launched telehealth and homecare services, capabilities which have proven invaluable this year amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Like many businesses, EHA Clinics was forced to adapt quickly. In rapid time the firm established dedicated clinics and COVID-19 diagnostics labs in two Nigerian cities, sites which are able to provide a test result within 24 hours, helping to plug the gap in testing capacity which has hampered the country’s efforts to trace the progress of the virus.
“We also faced a challenge in patient confidence about receiving treatment not just for coronavirus, but other health issues,” Thompson adds. “In March the number of people visiting us dropped to about 30 percent of what we would usually see in many facilities. There was some hesitancy among both patients and medical staff about coming into clinics in the early stages when we didn’t know too much about the virus. “However, we got our team together and focused very quickly in order to respond to the emergency, and by April our numbers had recovered as we had reassured them it was safe to visit us.
Codix Pharma Codix is a fast-growing pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Nigeria with offices in the UK, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. With its brand pillars hinged on people, innovation, and health service development, the company has collaborated with the public sector in Nigeria to develop guidelines for the management of diabetes and equipped PHCs with NCD clinics. The company’s passion for innovation and development of the health service led to its partnership with renowned global diagnostics manufacturers (OSANG Healthcare, SD Biosensor, Micobiomed, and Hubdic), and was first to market with the complete solution for Coronavirus diagnostics which comprises of fluorescent immunoassay detection, antigen and antibody rapid diagnostic detection kits and PCR reagent in partnership with SD Biosensor. Codix remains committed to advancing the Nigerian pharmaceutical sector through local manufacturing starting with blood glucose meters and strips by 2021, which would be first of its kind in Sub-Saharan African continent. There are also plans to commence RDT manufacturing thereafter in the medium term.
“Across all of our activities, we rely on close relationships with our suppliers and partners” 8 | Africa Outlook issue 84
Further, we have been treating people with mild COVID-19 symptoms at home through our homecare service, as well as more serious cases on-site.” The extraordinary circumstances created by the pandemic has highlighted the paramount importance of a robust training and development programme, the CEO quick to highlight how critical this has been in not only adapting to the ‘new normal’, but more generally in the development of eHealth Africa and EHA Clinics into what it is today.
With plans for West African expansion, Codix will establish its presence through partnerships in all five English speaking West African countries (Gambia and Liberia in addition to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone) by the end of the year 2021, and expansion to other parts of West Africa (French speaking countries of the region) by the end of year 2030. All the above and more, makes Codix a good fit for strategic partnerships such as has been established with e-Health Africa Clinics for over three years, in developing primary healthcare service within sub-urban areas, and accommodating the underserved population as well in Nigeria.
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HEALTHCARE
… improving the health of the nation Our vision is to become the market leader in cardiometabolic care in West Africa by 2030. Our mission: To improve the health of the nation through the introduction of quality innovative and affordable products (drugs and medical devices), continuous patients’ education, while contributing to the healthcare service development. Selexon
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Part of the group’s Chief Innovation Officer’s remit is to identify gaps in knowledge and help develop learning goals for various teams across the organisation, goals which fall in line with plans for growth. “A good example of this in action has been our training programme on ultrasound,” Thompson says. “We are at the forefront in terms of using ultrasound as a point of care diagnostic tool, which has involved taking a lot of learnings from how it is done in the US to here in Nigeria. “We wanted to jump on that and get ahead of the curve, so we’re able to swap a stethoscope for an ultrasound probe that can instantly provide a lot more detailed information on breathing, lung functions, heart functions, internal bleeding, and a whole host of other things. “This is just one of many programmes tailored towards staff groups, all of which are tracked on an internal platform.”
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The CEO also points to the critical role played by international and local partners in delivering training to eHealth Africa and EHA Clinics’ employees, be they NGOs or multinational corporations. “Across all of our activities, we rely on close relationships with our suppliers and partners,” Thompson continues. “Whether it’s helping us to troubleshoot issues, supplying equipment or even helping our teams with research, we have a number of vital collaborations.” Indeed, such collaboration will be crucial in the months and years ahead as Nigeria continues to tackle the health and socioeconomic challenges caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. In the immediate term, overcoming the barriers presented by the crisis is the priority for Thompson, who is determined to contribute as much as he can to the nation’s ongoing effort to contain the virus before returning to
info@codixpharma.com
something closer to business as usual. He concludes optimistically: “We have certainly been challenged by COVID-19 this year, but we are confident about the future. It is a lot more difficult right now to access capital, and that is what we need to enable our growth to continue. “However, I’m proud of how we have responded and feel fortunate that we have been able to create new services and replace some of our lost income during this time. The key for the whole sector is to get investors back into Nigeria and supporting some of the great startups that are here.”
EHEALTH AFRICA & EHA CLINICS Tel: +234 (0) 800 342 254 6427 info@eha.ng www.eha.ng
Africa Outlook issue 84 | 9
EHEALTH AFRICA & EHA CLINICS KANO: 4- 6 Independence Road, Bompai, Kano. No. 33 Lamido crescent, Nassarawwa LGA, Kano. ABUJA: Asba & Dantata Street, Life Camp, Abuja. Tel: 0800EHACLINICS (0800-342-254-6427) info@eha.ng www.eha.ng
PRODUCED BY AFRICA OUTLOOK MAGAZINE