Philips Africa boss discusses the challenges of affordable healthcare journey, his preferred model and the key role of awareness.
Good health has traditionally been associated with human development, partly because social, economic and even political advancement can only happen with a healthy population.
This is the reason policy makers have spent tonnes of money and time trying to find better means to improve the wellness of their people — whether through disease prevention or access to treatment.
In Kenya, health has been at the centre of the national discourse especially in the past five years during which it has been managed as a devolved function, and now as part of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ‘Big Four’ agenda.
Philips, a Dutch company, has stood out as one of the firms at the forefront of promoting wellness across the globe — through the provision of cutting-edge medical technology, health systems management solutions or healthy lifestyles.
The company’s Africa executives were recently in Kenya to advance wellness and access to healthcare through a campaign dubbed TourDeMeru that saw cyclists ride bikes from Nairobi to Meru.
The Business Daily talked to Philips Africa CEO Jasper Westerink on doing business in Africa and the company’s work in Kenya. Here are the excerpts. -----------------
You are aware that President Uhuru Kenyatta has picked Health as part of his “Big Four’ agenda. Does Philips see any opportunity to plug into this initiative?
Yes, we are part of a platform that has been specifically created to foster collaboration between the government, the private sector and other partners to drive access to primary care and we also interact with the government on many levels. We just finished a project with the building of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in select hospitals. We are very much working with the government to move Kenya’s healthcare to the next level.
From your perspective, how does Kenya, and East Africa compare with other African regions in regards to healthcare access?
Each African country has distinct challenges but what I really appreciate about coming to Kenya is that I get the strong feeling and sense that everybody would like to make a significant step forward. It seems that everybody is aligned on that. You see that stronger in Kenya than in other countries. The momentum to make a step change is here, which is something we embrace because by working together we can make that step.
You talked about the focus on access, but affordability remains a key issue especially for the millions of Kenyans in the low income bracket…
That is always a challenge, especially if the intention is to go into universal healthcare. That is why it is important that the work is done through partnerships that do not only look at today’s value but the longer-term value. The government, private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can work together to find the right models that support sustainable healthcare. Kenya in my view is one of the leading countries in Africa when it comes to developing partnerships to increase healthcare access and affordability.
Any one particular model you can suggest (as the private sector) based on your work at Philips?
The challenge, of course, has been that when you want to drive universal healthcare you go to areas where people have less income, so you need to find a model that can cover the entire country in a way that is sustainable. That touches on pricing models where you do not charge as you would in the city but you look at a model that is alive to who can be charged what fees in different areas. That can only be done through government partnerships.
Healthcare Is a devolved function in Kenya and Philips seems to be taking more of a county approach in advancing healthcare. As a multinational, is this your chosen model — vis a vis national level, then counties?
What we bring is experience from around the globe, we have experience in different models and the rollout schedule. Our interaction with the counties and national governments needs to define what works best for Kenya. We can advise but in the end, it is upon the government to make the choice, and decide how to implement and where to implement.
You have been appointed to a taskforce advising stakeholders on how to increase access and affordability of healthcare, what will be your key recommendations?
First, I would start with awareness because you have a young population and it is very important to start educating them early on how to live a healthy life. Prevention is always better than cure and I will focus on that area for sure. Next, if you want to cover the whole country you have a deployment challenge because you have vast territory. You have a financing challenge. So I would focus on how to drive standards. You may start and pilot it once before rolling it out in the entire country.
On health education, an activity as simple as cycling such as what you have launched in Kenya seems to do the trick?
Jobs are changing… people used to work on a farm and be physically very active. Nowadays people sit in an office and they do not exercise. People should be walking, cycling, taking kids out for a walk, etc. I think it is important to tell people that such activities really improve the quality of life.
You sit in South Africa as you look after Philips operations in Africa, how has it been doing business in Africa?
The continent has over 50 countries. It may be difficult to paint a uniform picture …
What are your pain points in doing business in Africa?
It would be easier if there was one continent with one set of regulations, one set of rules. But of course countries are different. We see improvement, with countries clustering and making small trading hubs. The diversity makes it a great opportunity because you can bring different services, different solutions but it also comes with a lot of administration and I think that could be improved.
What next for Philips in Africa?
We have been here over 100 years and we want to stay. We will continue to drive our efforts for universal healthcare and primary care. We will continue to work with government to bring solutions and processes because we are sure this is a continent we can have an impact on. We want to impact three billion lives by 2025, in that sense Africa is very important. We also believe there is a long-term business potential here.
