Building a Distributed Healthcare Network
What the M-Pesa of healthcare looks like
Two years into the coronavirus pandemic, less than 7% of the Kenyan population was vaccinated.
In my 9 years living in Nairobi, I have been blown away by the energy of the city. Healthcare associations and communities exchange hundreds of messages each day over WhatsApp. Start-ups are “disrupting” everything from emergency care infrastructure to the supply chain for oral rehydration salts.
Why hasn’t the booming health innovation scene translated into higher vaccination rates?
I moved to Kenya in 2012 to launch a healthcare business called Access Afya. We currently serve over 10,000 people every month through community micro-clinics and a suite of digital health apps. Access Afya is a digital health business at its core that reaches people through lightweight clinics, a tireless focus on distributing the right health products at the right time, and extensive community outreach.
As continued waves of coronavirus and its variants shake up how we work, shop, and talk to doctors, everyone is making predictions on what this mysterious “new normal” will look like. I’ve got a clear picture in my mind of a distributed, connected healthcare system — one that ensures access for everyone.
