Philips Africa CEO Jasper Westerink. Photo | Courtesy
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.
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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…
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.
LOnserio@ke.nationmedia.com
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