PharmAccess

Last week we shared findings on the diabetes financing care gap in Lagos. The hypertension picture is just as stark. This second study from our Research & Learning team and Dr. Emmanuella Zamba, Permanent Secretary/CEO, Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), followed 1,249 hypertension patients across 74 facilities in Lagos State; 82% had uncontrolled blood pressure at their first visit. A complete patient care journey, if guidelines are followed, would costs $148 per patient per year. In reality, 81% of the recommended care was never delivered. For uninsured patients, that figure rises to 85%. But here's what would happen when all patients received their consultations and medications as prescribed: between 2,900 and 6,900 cardiovascular events could be prevented every year across facilities in Lagos. This translates to an investment per saved life year of ~5,000 – 13,000 USD. The treatment works. Access to it doesn't. Two conditions. Same bottleneck: medication costs. Same solutions as for diabetes: procurement reform, generics, insurance expansion, more efficient care models. The study is available in the comments 👇

In Lagos, patients with uncomplicated type 2 diabetes receive less than a quarter of the care they need. A new study from our Research & Learning team and co-author Dr. Emmanuella Zamba, Permanent Secretary/CEO, Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), puts precise numbers on that gap. Based on combined guidelines from the WHO, LASHMA, and the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, the average cost of comprehensive diabetes care would be $453 per patient per year. In reality, patients receive care worth $96, with medications accounting for 73% of the total cost of care and for most of the financing gap. Despite this partial coverage, being insured is associated with better blood sugar control. This financing gap adds up to $206 million annually across Lagos State. Closing this gap would lead to an estimated reduction of 35,000 cases of stroke and heart attack over a 7-year period, equaling $5,893 per averted case. What it takes to close the gap is clear: reduce medication prices through pooled drug procurement, generics and local production, and create insurance efficiencies through smarter digital diabetes care delivery. Read the full paper in the comments👇

By 2030, NCDs are projected to account for nearly half of all deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hypertension affects one in four adults. Three in four people living with diabetes in the region don't know it.   The real problem is not detection. It is keeping patients in care long enough to make a difference. That is what our programmes are designed to do.   In Ghana, our hypertension programme, delivered through the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) network, is now embedded within the National Health Insurance Authority of Ghana system across 22 facilities in six regions. One that rewards providers for patient outcomes, not just visits. Patients on digital remote monitoring achieved a 59% improvement in controlled outcomes after one year. The national average is 6%.   In Zanzibar, community-based patient support groups grew from 32 to 52 last year, now serving 1,876 patients across 10 districts. Their data now sits within the government's own health records, so that what happens to a patient between visits is no longer invisible.   This Global Week for Action on NCDs, we are not talking about commitments. We are showing what delivery looks like.   More in our 2025 Progress Report. Link in the comments.   #ActOnNCDs #LeadOnNCDs #DigitalHealth #GlobalHealth #PharmAccess

Every day, about 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Almost all of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The data exists to prevent many of them. The problem is that it rarely reaches the right people at the right time.   That is what we are changing: making sure data reaches and benefits patients.   In Kisumu, Kenya, 109 pregnancies were identified as high-risk through AI-assisted ultrasound scans, using BabyChecker. Cases that would likely have gone undetected until complications arose.   In 2025, a hybrid model combining clinic visits and teleconsultations, developed with HealthX Africa, led to an 80% increase in care contact moments in Kenya. In Zanzibar, the share of mothers attending four or more antenatal visits rose from 15% to 52%.   Both are highlights from our 2025 Progress Report. Full report in the comments.   #DigitalHealth #GlobalHealth #BabyChecker #PharmAccess Delft Imaging | BCorp™

Recently, John Otieno joined PharmAccess as Medical Advisor, based in our Kenya office, to help advance our mission of improving access to quality healthcare across Africa.   With over a decade of experience across clinical practice, health administration and regulation, John brings expertise in clinical care, health systems and regulatory compliance.   In his new role, he will provide medical guidance, support research and innovation, and contribute to the development of patient-centred healthcare programmes and solutions in Kenya.   Welcome, John! We look forward to seeing your experience and perspective contribute to our work in Kenya and beyond. #WelcomeToTheTeam #DigitalHealth #GlobalHealth #PharmAccess

A record 1,754 loans disbursed in a single year. For the first time, 32.5% went to women entrepreneurs.   Small healthcare providers across sub-Saharan Africa struggle to access financing. Banks see them as too small, too risky, too unfamiliar. Without capital, they cannot improve their facilities, retain staff, or earn patients' trust. That is why we created the Medical Credit Fund in 2009.   In 2025, MCF disbursed more loans than ever before, bringing total lending since inception to over €200 million across more than 12,500 loans. The active loan portfolio reached €18 million, up 33% on 2024.   Most of these loans are now digital. In Kenya, 1,600 digital loans gave providers working capital to bridge payment delays, pay staff, and keep medicines in stock. In Tanzania, we launched Afya Mkopo together with Vodacom Tanzania Plc, a digital loan product requiring no collateral, repayable via M-Pesa, East Africa's most widely used mobile money platform.   Behind each of these loans is a healthcare provider committed to delivering better care to the communities they serve.   This is another highlight from our 2025 Progress Report. Full report in the comments.   #HealthFinancing #GlobalHealth #DigitalHealth #PharmAccess

More than 5 million people die every year in low- and middle-income countries because of poor quality of care. That is more than the number who die from lack of access to care. Getting people into the health system is not enough.   That is why we created SafeCare 15 years ago. Through SafeCare, we help facilities, partners, and governments make quality measurable, visible, and improvable. But measuring quality at facility level only tells part of the story. What matters is what happens to the patient. Did the mother's journey end with a healthy baby and a safe recovery? In 2025, we took the first steps toward answering that question. Patient Journey Ratings were piloted across three facilities in Kenya, tracking the actual care pathway and outcome each patient experienced.   Across 27 countries, we reached 26 million patients in 2025. 62% of facilities that underwent a follow-up assessment improved their quality scores. Governments are embedding SafeCare into their systems. Nigeria signed an agreement to bring our standards to 48 federal tertiary hospitals. In Ghana, 45% of Christian Health Association facilities now pay for SafeCare services from their own revenues.   This is another highlight from our 2025 Progress Report. The full report is in the comments. #QualityOfCare #GlobalHealth #SafeCare #PharmAccess

45 million people. That’s how many people are now connected to health insurance through national schemes supported by PharmAccess across Ghana, Nigeria, Zanzibar and Tanzania. But millions more still pay for healthcare out of pocket across sub-Saharan Africa. And when you cannot afford to pay, you do not get care. Illness pushes families into poverty. That only changes when governments commit to finance these systems themselves, and when health insurance fits how people live. 2025 showed progress on both. Nigeria's national coverage reached 21.7 million, up from 19 million in 2024. Kwara State grew enrolment 58% in a year, funded entirely through domestic resources. In Zanzibar, enrolment reached 21% of the population within two years of launch. In Kenya, CarePay International linked 6,150 motorcycle taxi riders to coverage through their daily transactions, insurance built into what they already do. This is the first of six highlights from our 2025 Progress Report, which we will be sharing over the coming weeks. Full report in the comments. #DigitalHealth #GlobalHealth #HealthInsurance #PharmAccess