PharmAccess ’s Post

A decade ago on 17 July 2014, we tragically lost our founder Dr Joep Lange when flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing him and the other 297 people onboard. Joep’s partner Jacqueline van Tongeren, another dear PharmAccess colleague, died as well. Joep’s legacy and example are very much alive at PharmAccess, however. His steadfast dedication to making inclusive health systems a reality continues to drive our work. Like him, we refuse to accept that living in a poorer country puts quality healthcare beyond reach. Joep’s HIV/Aids activism inspires us to design innovative solutions to problems others believe are too expensive or difficult ever to root out. 📺 To commemorate the victims, Dutch channel NPO made the program “MH17 Muziek als Troost”. Sven Figee’s band performed "Round Midnight" by Miles Davis to honour Joep. Find it on NPO Start if you're in the Netherlands: https://lnkd.in/drpi4iju

With nearly 500,000 Nigerians estimated to have #tuberculosis and up to 90% of people suffering from respiratory diseases first seen by private healthcare providers, the private sector must be involved in stopping TB. That is why PharmAccess developed the simple screening tool MATS (Mobile Application for Tuberculosis Screening) with support from The Global Fund. The MATS tool guides providers with a series of questions to assess a patient’s risk of TB infection. If indicated, the patient is referred to a diagnostic facility to confirm the diagnosis. Nigeria’s National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP) has now rolled out MATS nationwide. Ahead of the launch tomorrow of a strategy for the private sector to help end TB in #Nigeria – hosted by Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate – Dr Ademola Ade-Serrano shares lessons that MATS hold. Read his review: https://lnkd.in/dSmZPgVc

“In an era of evidence-informed medicine, the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) is now being acclaimed as a game-changer.” This said Dr Peter Yeboah – executive director of CHAG – to association members at a meeting where they pledged to fully adopt the #SafeCare quality improvement methodology. Sponsored by The Helmsley Charitable Trust, this project entails CHAG members incorporating the cost of quality assessments and training in their annual budgets. Next up is expanding the culture of quality to the Ghana Health Service (GHS). Whereas CHAG encompasses nearly 400 healthcare facilities country-wide, the GHS operates 10,000! “The Ghana Ministry of Health has seen the change that CHAG has birthed because it has heightened the need for quality,” said our country director in Ghana, Maxwell Antwi. What the Joy News report for more: https://lnkd.in/dX_K7PuU James Duah Bonifacia Agyei Roelinde Bakker Aafke de Graaff

Last week PharmAccess Nigeria was privileged to co-host a workshop in Lagos, as a consortium partner of Digital Transformations for Health Lab, at the African Digital Health Summit 2024. Thirty-five young people under the age of 30 joined the workshop and agreed on core values and key features to be included in digital-first health systems in Nigeria and across Africa. The findings of this workshop will be incorporated into the blueprint for digital-first health systems. Thank you all for participating and your inspiration! Njide Ndili

Imagine governments could stretch their health budgets by only paying when their citizens are successfully treated. This is the aim of innovative financing methods like outcomes-based financing. PharmAccess and the Joep Lange Institute demonstrated the feasibility of this method in a study documenting the 96% cure rate achieved for hepatitis C patients in Cameroon. (Find it online: https://lnkd.in/dZRBzR_k) Today, our CEO Nicole Spieker will introduce a discussion with people involved in outcomes-based financing in the health sector and moderated by john fairhurst, head of private sector engagement at The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The panellists are: 🗣️ Jane Newman: international director at Social Finance 🗣️ Fareed Abdullah: director of the office of AIDS and TB research at the South African Medical Research Council 🗣️ Dr. Yaw Opoku-Boateng: deputy director of PharmAccess partner the National Health Insurance Authority of Ghana. 🗣️ Dia Martin, CFA: managing director of the social enterprise financing team at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation 🗣️ Sietse Wouters: program director of innovative finance at the UBS Optimus Foundation The Brookings Institution is hosting the webinar, sponsored by Achmea. Register now to take part! 📅 Date: Today, Tue 18 June ⏰ Time: 15:00-16:15 CEST (UTC+2) 👉 Register: https://lnkd.in/dpYVNcyt