Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, announced the results of its access to healthcare programs part of the “In reach Africa” program namely Kuza Afya and Tiba Yako in Nairobi and Western Kenya. Kuza Afya is a diabetes and hypertension care programme designed to work with communities and healthcare workers through comprehensive education, screening and care. It was unveiled in January 2019 and rolled out in Bungoma County, Western Kenya until December 2019. During this period, over 70,000 community members were screened for hypertension and 40,000 for diabetes. “Hypertension and diabetes prevalence rates are still very high in Nairobi and Western Kenya regions. However, through Kuza Afya and Tiba Yako we were able to identify the key challenges on the ground being lack of awareness on the diseases and access to healthcare services especially in the grassroots and low income areas. The two programmes helped bridge this gap by equipping m
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Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, has launched its new “Where You Shop Matters’ initiative that aims to champion and enable entrepreneurs in Kenya, while encouraging consumers to support small businesses. Alongside a new SMB resource hub, Visa has published the COVID-19 CEMEA Impact Tracker highlighting the recent effect the novel coronavirus pandemic has had on commerce for consumers and small merchants in Kenya. The findings of the report highlight increased anxiety with consumers staying away from all but essential retail. 65% of consumers polled reported going grocery shopping less often, while 49% reported taking public transportation less often. The impact of the pandemic still hasn’t made a big impact on transactions on public transport as nearly a third of the surveyed consumers saying that they still pay with cash when using public transport. During the pandemic, many consumers in Kenya have started shopping online for the first time for essentials. 39% of co
Health start-ups in Kenya and Uganda have been selected as winners in the VivaTech 2020 Global Challenge This follows an online final challenge organized by Sanofi following the cancellation of the 2020 edition of VivaTech that was to be held in Paris, France due to the global CoViD-19 pandemic. Kenya’s MamaPrime and Uganda’s Teheca emerged winners at the AfricaTech challenges and are set to receive partnership opportunities with Sanofi in the realization of the projects and innovation in their local markets. The f ive start-ups were announced winners during the final of the Sanofi AfricaTech challenges (the African lab of Viva Technology) which was conducted online. They were selected from a pool of 11 start-ups who pitched at the finals of the challenge. This year, Sanofi received a total of 268 application from 34 countries across the continent. The selection process was based on 5 criteria: project maturity, early results, the relevance of their solution, market potential and bus
Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies has unveiled a global training and awareness programme on albinism in an effort to safeguard persons with albinism from discrimination and raise awareness in their environment. The programme will educate people with albinism, their families, friends and health care providers on the importance of protecting those affected by the condition. It will be implemented in close collaboration with key partners - Ampath, Golden Age Albinism Support Group (GAASP) and Positive Exposure, all based in Kenya. The training which will be rolled out in Western Kenya will also focus on health and safety conditions for people living with albinism in the region while emphasizing on the importance of the community to embrace and protect those with the condition in their environment. Jane Waithera, the founder of Positive Exposure says a comprehensive programme has been designed in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim and the
Livestock farmers in Kenya can now access essential extension services from their mobile phones following the unveiling of the the ‘Last Mile’ app. The “LastMile” initiative is an integrated, solutions-driven program seeking to address crucial animal health challenges by making animal medical resources available in hard-to-reach areas. The initiative targets ruminants, such as sheep, goats along with cattle, and poultry. Established by Boehringer Ingelheim, with support from the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) and funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “LastMile” aims to bridge current gaps in access, availability, and awareness of animal healthcare solutions for smallholder farmers in Africa. The program’s mission is to create long-lasting partnerships with the local farming community in an effort to establish and drive sustainable businesses that are integrated into the wider national economy. It was initially launched in Kenya, and other key ma