Field, a Nigerian healthtech company, has launched a route-to-market service to introduce new therapies addressing maternal mortality, newborn and child health, and nutrition challenges.
Backed by an initial $11 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [BMGF], the initiative will use Field’s proprietary technology, distribution, and financing services.
This service currently powers a network of over 40,000 private and public healthcare providers in rural and urban areas of Kenya and Nigeria.
CEO and Founder of Field, Michael Moreland, emphasised that leveraging digital technology to power, network, and finance health systems at scale will significantly enhance access to quality care and the support from the BMGF will help the company accelerate improvements in maternal and child survival across various settings.
Data show that women in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest lifetime risk of maternal mortality, with a ratio of 1 in 41. This risk is about 268 times greater than in Western Europe, where the rate is 1 in 11,000.
In 2020, Africa had 545 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, as compared to 4 in Australia and New Zealand. It also accounted for 70% of global maternal deaths that year.
To address this, Field’s service will provide expectant mothers in Africa access to emerging therapies such as heat-stable carbetocin and calibrated drapes, which detect and treat postpartum haemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal mortality in Africa. It will also accelerate these new interventions, support established therapies and address related complications like preeclampsia.
Moreland noted that despite improvements in healthcare delivery, the tough economic climate could affect the progress in the absence of coordinated systems and processes. He emphasized that the role of the company is to address the challenges.
Founded in 2015 by Michael Moreland and Justin Lorenzo, Field is a pharmaceutical supply chain provider within Nigeria and Kenya that aims to reshape the pharma value chain.
The company’s distribution service, Shelf Life, is said to distribute over 3,000 quality products across more than 50 therapeutic areas, reaching over 2,500 pharmacies and hospitals in 24 cities in Nigeria and Kenya, including government facilities, large hospital systems, retail chains, insurance companies and family-operated drug stores.
The platform also provides trade financing solutions for priority therapies and equipment that address working capital constraints that often hinder investment in new medical interventions.
Source: DisruptAfrica
