By Gabriel Olawale

Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company, FDHIC, in partnership with Stears Data, has launched the 2021 ‘Africa Healthcare Report’ titled Impact Investing and Healthcare Financing in Africa.

The report provides context on the current state of healthcare in Africa and the gaps in the healthcare value chain. The report is divided into 3 sections that look at how much is needed to improve healthcare provision in Africa, the role of impact investing as a possible solution and what next steps African countries can take to encourage impact investing and healthcare financing on the continent. It also provides insights on the current state of healthcare in Africa, deep dives into the reasons for the deplorable state of healthcare in Africa whilst pinpointing key areas for investment.

While giving her keynote address during the virtual event, the founder of Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company, Dr. Ola Brown, explained the problems that have plagued healthcare in Africa and as well as the possible solutions. In her words, ‘in order for quality healthcare to be supplied, someone has to pay for it; either the government, the patient or an insurance company’. She pointed out that in Africa all three of these parties (insurers, patients, and the government) face constraints and that no country in the world had achieved universal healthcare without significant state support.

The launch also featured a panel session with Dr. Ola Brown, Andrew Garza, Co-founder/COO, Lifestores Healthcare, Abieyuwa Obaseki, Senior Associate, Stears Data and moderated by Michael Famoroti, Co-founder/Chief economist, Stears Data.
During the panel session, Dr. Ola highlighted that poverty and financing constraints have prevented African countries from plugging their healthcare gaps, estimated at $66 billion and this is one of the several reasons why this report was written and where impact investing will come into play.

Some solutions to fiscal constraints within government, that were mentioned during the panel session by Dr Ola Brown, were public private partnership (PPP) and other technological innovations. When investments are made into healthcare, it creates a ripple effect on other unrelated issues that have continued to plague the continent. According to the Healthcare federation of Nigeria, investment in healthcare could create up to 16 million jobs across Africa, making the continent not just more productive, but also helping to combat security challenges.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a light even more harshly on these gaps, and showcased how technology can help in bridging them. Impact Investing, being a more suitable way for financing this technology across the continent, can be introduced into the Africa healthcare value chain and will create sustainable impact in different ways, for example on the micro side – providing remote care to patients- among other things.

Andrew Garza, the COO/Cofounder of Lifestores Limited, one of Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company’s portfolio companies, mentioned how impact investing has assisted his company in making cost-effective, genuine medicines easily accessible and affordable to ordinary Nigerians. He explained how in the process of searching for cheaper drugs, Nigerians buy counterfeit drugs that pose huge health risks.

According to WHO, 1 in 9 women in Nigeria, dies during childbirth, so an investment in healthcare is an investment towards saving lives. African youths need jobs and healthcare gives jobs. Solve the job problem and you would have solved the economic problem.

While delivering his closing remarks, Dr. Nkata Chuku, the founding partner of Health Systems Consult Limited, spoke about how we cannot continue to run out of pocket payment for health and expect to have positive change in healthcare in Nigeria, in the reduction of maternal mortality rate and the general quality of life. He mentioned that with a GDP Per capita of $2,000, Nigerian government would be unable to fund healthcare for all, and this is where PPP comes in.

The full report can be found on the Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company’s website.