Philips bets on low-cost technology to win a piece of healthcare market

Corporate News

Philips East Africa general manager Roelof Assies (left), explains how the firm's medical equipment works to Kiambu Governor William Kabogo at Kiambu District Hospital. PHOTO | COURTESY 

By SARAH OOKO, sooko@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• For Philips, this project is also aimed at showcasing the power of technological innovation in solving major health hurdles afflicting people in developing nations.

Kiambu residents can now look forward to better healthcare following the recent refurbishment of the Kiambu District Hospital.

The hospital, which acts as a referral facility for the county’s more than one million residents, had been in a sorry state until the authorities struck a deal with global health equipment maker Phillips to upgrade it.

For all its woes, the hospital — ranked third nationally in terms of daily birth rates — was often the only option available to many expectant women.

A few who had the money sought treatment in private hospitals while some opted to take their chances with home delivery, putting their lives and those of their unborn children at risk.

But the situation has improved after Philips partnered with the county government to revamp the hospital’s maternity and child wards as well as install modern medical equipment.

The walls have been painted and decorated in hues that create a serene and calming environment for mothers and their babies. The floors have new tiles and cabinets built.

For Philips, this project is also aimed at showcasing the power of technological innovation in solving major health hurdles afflicting people in developing nations.

Kenya currently has one of the highest maternal and child deaths worldwide, which has compromised its chances of attaining most of the health-related millennium development goals (MDGs).

Over 6,000 women die every year from pregnancy-related complications while another 108,000 children die before their fifth birthday.

Yet, these deaths can be curtailed through the adoption of appropriate medical technologies and infrastructure which for a long time have been a preserve of wealthy nations due to their exorbitant costs.

To address these technological gaps and facilitate universal access to good primary care irrespective of one’s economic background, medical equipment companies such as Philips are now coming up with innovations that are designed to meet the needs of the developing world.

“We are investing in technologies that are made in Africa for Africa to address conditions here,” said Roelof Assies, general manager for Philips East Africa.

The rehabilitated Kiambu hospital is intended to serve as a model facility. The new medical equipment is aimed at withstanding challenges that most healthcare facilities in rural areas experience such as limited financial resources, water shortages, inadequate human resource and erratic electric power.

Philips is not alone in this endeavour. Other multinational medical equipment companies like General Electric and Mindray are also increasingly reaching out to vulnerable populations in developing nations with tailor-made infrastructure that suit their needs.

In so doing, they are also increasing their market reach with an aim of generating revenue from a segment that was previously ignored but is now proving profitable due to the need and high demand for medical technologies.