COVID-19 has exposed the extent of the weaknesses in health care systems around Africa. However, the pandemic is also inspiring innovative ways of delivering health care to remote areas across the continent. In Ghana, a health care logistics company called Zipline is using drones to transport COVID-19 test samples from areas that don’t
Healthcare
CDC co-invests with Novastar Ventures in mPharma
CDC Group has closed a co-investment with Novastar Ventures in mPharma, a tech-enabled healthcare company driving supply chain efficiencies for pharmaceutical products across Africa. Novastar Ventures is a CDC-backed venture capital fund manager, which led the company’s Series C funding round. Stephen Priestley, Managing Director, Funds and Capital Partnerships, at
Zoscales invests in Pioneer Diagnostics Center
Zoscales Partners, an investment firm, investing in private equity with impact in East Africa, has invested in Pioneer Diagnostics Center (PDC), a diagnostic imaging service provider in Ethiopia. Fredd Kambo, the Principal who led the deal for the East African private equity firm, said: “Ethiopia currently has the lowest penetration
Morocco Launches COVID-19 Tracking Application ‘Wiqaytna’
Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Health launched Monday, June 1 the COVID-19 tracking application “Wiqaytna,” “our protection” in Arabic, to help curb the spread of the pandemic in the country. The Bluetooth-based application compiles a list of all people with whom the user made contact and notifies its users when a name on the contact
South Africa’s Tana Capital acquires minority stake in Alexandria Medical Investment Company
South African investment firm Tana Africa Capital has purchased a stake in Alexandria Medical Investment Company, the majority shareholder of Mabaret Al Asafra Hospitals Group, according to the local press. The acquisition — the size and value of which was not disclosed — also gave Tana a minority stake in
Ventilators and oxygen helmets designed by Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic to be manufactured in Africa
Philanthropists Richard Branson, Jeff Skoll and Strive Masiyiwa have teamed up to help African nations secure low-cost, urgently needed medical equipment as COVID-19 cases rise across the continent. Mr Masiyiwa, co-founder of Higherlife Foundation, has recently been named an African Union Special Envoy to mobilise the private sector response to the COVID-19
COVID-19 heightens need for pharmaceutical production in poor countries
Untapped local production While the resolution and funds will help, they provide a temporary solution. And with discussions focused on the issue of patents and profits, a fundamental issue is being overlooked: the lack of productive capacity in developing countries. Vaccine production is currently concentrated in a few developed countries,
