GE Healthcare - Afrikan Heroes

In 2021, Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa Accelerated like Never Before

January 4, 2022

By Eyong Ebai

Our purpose at GE Healthcare is to improve lives in moments that matter, and we do so by partnering to help deliver more sustainable and accessible precision healthcare.

It has been a year to the day since I started my new role leading the GE Healthcare business in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The year has continued to experience heightened anxieties, further lockdowns and personal losses. The effect on economies, education and healthcare systems in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to be felt and are exacerbated by what can be described as discriminatory vaccine policies and travel restrictions on many African countries during the emergence of Omicron variant in recent weeks.”

Eyong Ebai, General Manager Sub-Saharan Africa, GE Healthcare — ***Eyong Ebai,General Manager Sub-Saharan Africa, GE Healthcare***

As a result, countries, businesses, and individuals have been forced to adapt.

The pandemic illuminated gaps in healthcare infrastructure across the continent. With grounded flights and closed borders. It impacted people’s ability to travel for quality care, which brought a focus on filling those gaps closer to home. Plans were developed to bolster healthcare infrastructure in every Sub-Saharan African country so that communities would have access without needing to travel.

Now, we have an unparalleled opportunity to have the biggest impact on healthcare infrastructure in generations. We have a political and economic focus, a faster decision-making culture, and the opportunity to implement digital and artificial intelligence-enabled solutions that can bring better healthcare to more people. Funding is also being made available by local and global financial institutions that have invested millions of dollars in the healthcare sector this year to create opportunities and arrive at the right solutions to save lives.

Accessibility is one of the main issues in SSA. What changed this year was the speed in which key projects were delivered in both the public and private sectors. As part of our ongoing commitment to provide quality healthcare, GE Healthcare contributed to a number of major projects this year.

We inaugurated a first-of-its-kind comprehensive Cancer Center with Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital (KUTRRH). The Center will provide lifesaving equipment along the cancer care pathway – from screening and diagnosis to staging to determining treatment. The Duchess International Hospital also opened in Lagos, as a multi-specialty privately-owned hospital. GE Healthcare completed the delivery and installation of equipment with a full range of solutions for improved healthcare across Nigeria. In Uganda, the first Afri-Egypt Health diagnostic center opened through a partnership between GE Healthcare and AFRIPHARMA. The center includes potentially life-saving equipment to better serve the surrounding communities. Finally, we continued to deliver on our services contracts across SSA.

To accomplish all of this, and continue our success into next year, we have been focused on our local workforce. Localization is the best strategy for long-term success because local teams are invested in their own communities. Our employees have the resilience, drive, and ability to overcome tremendous obstacles. In the past year, traditional business models were largely torn up and thrown out the window. Instead, we found creative thinking, flexibility, and the ability to figure things out in record time were implemented to adapt to the new environment – and this approach continues to be met with success.

The pressure of quick decision making made a difference for and motivated individuals within the organization as nothing else had in the past. Decisions that historically took months had to be done within days and being in crisis management mode actually made us perform better. If I look back over the last year, I would say there were very few bad decisions made. Instead, we reduced bureaucracy and focused on what matters. Since COVID, we have learned to look at things in a lean way, cutting out the waste. I think it challenged how a business operates, and the healthcare infrastructure across SSA benefitted.

Improving lives in moments that matter

SSA has seen incredible growth and serves as a market where healthcare can ‘break new ground’ in terms of innovative models and solutions. Across the continent, GE works as part of an ecosystem to deliver tailor-made services that look beyond just technology to offer solutions and make a positive impact. The focus is always on partnerships and the patient. They are at the center of everything we do as we work to help clinicians make more accurate diagnoses, reduce incidents of disease, and improve outcomes.

To me, in 2020, we were laying the groundwork – monitoring and doing our research on how to adapt to change and new challenges. 2021 was a year of action, speed, and innovation. Looking ahead, we must all work together to rise to challenge and I can see that all the stars are aligned.

In the coming years I expect to see the biggest ever improvement in healthcare infrastructure to date. This will be accelerated further by the actualisation of the African Continental Free Trade area, which will have a significant impact on accelerating trade across the continent. This is expected to be a game-changer for development ambitions, especially for the healthcare sector over the medium term. It provides a unique opportunity to promote inclusive growth and accelerate the post-pandemic recovery.

We have done solid work this year, and we are poised for success as we look to 2022. We are improving lives in moments that matter for communities that matter, and that is truly a reason to be proud.

Eyong Ebai is the General Manager Sub-Saharan Africa, GE Healthcare

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Maria do Rosario Boavida Appointed As Country Leader for GE Healthcare in Angola

October 1, 2019

GE Healthcare has announced the appointment of Maria do Rosario Boavida as the Country Leader for Angola. Maria is the first Country Manager for GE Healthcare in Angola. Ms. Boavida will lead the market strategy and growth plans for GE Healthcare with public and private sector partners in Angola.

According to the General Manager GE Healthcare West, Central and French Speaking Sub Saharan Africa, Eyong Ebai, this appointment is in reiteration of the company’s commitment to work together with the government and private sector in order to develop sustainable outcome-based healthcare solutions in an effort to support Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Angola. He added that empowering decision-making at a local level is at the core of the company’s localization strategy for Angola. “We believe that Maria’s appointment is a further step in making our vision for the country a reality. We are also glad to bring on board someone with the experience in the healthcare industry and passion for the Angolan market to continue to drive our growth and meet our customers’ healthcare needs in Angola,” he said.

Maria brings over 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry having worked extensively in Portugal as well as Angola. In the last 10 years, she has held top managerial positions in the pharmaceutical industry working in Portugal as well as in Angola. She has been living in Angola in the last 10 years holding top managerial positions in companies such as Bayer HC where she was responsible for implementing, delivering and developing the pharmaceutical business specifically in the areas of Family Planning and Cardio diseases.

Maria later joined Sanofi as the Country Manager for Angola where she introduced and implemented the use of insulin in diabetic patients by managing a program for healthcare professionals in both public and private sectors in Angola. It is from Sanofi that she joined GE Healthcare in June 2019.

Speaking on her appointment, Maria do Rosario Boavida said that she is honoured and excited to take on this role to lead GE’s Healthcare business in Angola, “as we deliver on our mission of improving lives in moments that matter,” adding that “as a leader in healthcare, we will continue to align our solutions and initiatives with the country’s National Health Development plan to assure access to basic health care for all people of Angola.”

With over 120 years in Africa, GE is working with governments, NGOs and private sector partners to drive access to quality and affordable healthcare services through new delivery models in primary healthcare, providing capital solutions, advancing skills for healthcare professionals and providing technologies and innovations with clinically and economically relevant value propositions.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

GE Healthcare and the Association of Medical Engineering of Kenya host more than 100 biomedical engineers for Biomedical Excellence Day

August 9, 2019

More than 100 biomedical engineers from the public and private sectors across the country participated with best practices on maintenance emphasized during the training; the training aligns with Kenya’s Vision 2030 and the Big Four agenda pillar on capacity building for Universal Health Coverage

GE Healthcare today hosted the first “Biomedical Excellence Day” in Kenya during which more than 100 biomedical engineers were trained by local and international experts. The engineers were drawn from both government and private health centers from across Kenya’s 47 counties. The training was organized in partnership with the Association of Medical Engineering of Kenya (AMEK) and held in Nairobi.

AMEK is a professional association registered under CAP 108 of the laws of Kenya and boasts of approximately 2000 members currently.

The objective of the Biomedical Excellence Day was to provide biomedical engineers with the latest information and knowledge on the use of advanced medical equipment. The full-day event also provided a platform for knowledge sharing to foster best practices in the maintenance of healthcare systems.

Topics covered included Medical Equipment Lifecycle management and upgrades, Navigation through CT Technology, Code of Conduct for Medical Engineers, among other topics.

“As a leader in the healthcare sector, we believe that in order to provide sustainability of healthcare solutions, training programs for healthcare professionals need up-dating to remain relevant to their practice and to reflect advances in healthcare innovations,” said Andrew Waititu, Managing Director of GE Healthcare East Africa. “The Biomedical Excellence Day reinforces our commitment to support continuous training for healthcare professionals and support the Universal Health Coverage agenda.”

In June 2016, GE Healthcare launched a US $13 million Healthcare Skills and Training Institute in Kenya in collaboration with the government to promote the training of biomedical engineers and other healthcare workers as part of the Managed Equipment Services (MES) project.

This is driving capacity and capability building as a priority for sustainable development of the healthcare sector in Kenya. To date, over 1600 professionals have been trained.

“Training in the latest medical technologies is critical for Biomedical Engineering professionals to efficiently provide quality Healthcare technology management to Kenyans through treatment, consultation, diagnosis, monitoring, administration, equipment preventive maintenance, surgery among other services.

We appreciate GE Healthcare for organizing the Biomedical Excellence Day which aligns with our motto of “Strengthening healthcare technology through appropriate technology” as it bridges the skills gaps within our fraternity.” Eng. Millicent Alooh, Secretary-General, AMEK

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

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GE Healthcare and Access Bank Partner to Provide Financing to Nigeria’s Healthcare Providers

July 28, 2019

Access Bank and GE Healthcare are to provide sustainable healthcare equipment financing to private healthcare providers; The partnership will help the private healthcare providers to deliver access to affordable healthcare services.

GE Healthcare and Access Bank Nigeria have entered into a partnership to provide Nigeria’s Private Healthcare Providers with equipment financing. Under the partnership, borrowers will be able to secure loans of up to $800,000 negotiable, based on the customer requirement.

Access Bank will provide access to loans for eligible healthcare providers, while GE Healthcare will support the program through the provision of GE healthcare equipment and technical support. The equipment under the partnership scope includes Imaging Solutions including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT), Ultrasound Machines and Life Care Solutions.

Borrowers which qualify for loans include private healthcare providers such as hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers and other private practices offering a broad array of services.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Eyong Ebai, General Manager for GE Healthcare West, Central & French Sub-Saharan Africa said, “We are committed to investing in Public and Private Partnerships that innovate new delivery models that will improve access to affordable and quality patient outcomes, as we progress towards Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria. Our partnership with Access Bank will help lift the financial burden off the healthcare providers.”

Earlier this year, GE Healthcare rolled out a similar initiative in partnership with Medical Credit Fund to provide Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with financing for healthcare equipment.

“There is a need to provide innovative financing models for healthcare providers especially in the private sector, who currently face challenges accessing financing for the purchase of healthcare equipment due to the risk associated with the business.

As a financing institution, we are committed to providing financing at both the health-service-provider level and at health-service-consumer levels to ensure that the people of Nigeria have all they need to live healthy lives.” Said Mr. Herbert Wigwe, CEO Access Bank.

Access Bank was earlier this year recognized for the second time as the ‘Outstanding Healthcare SME-Friendly Bank of the Year’ at the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award (NHEA) 2019.

The need to provide affordable healthcare in Nigeria is key to the development of the Nigerian Healthcare sector. Even as the World Health Organisation has identified UHC as a unifying concept and goal for the Government as they strengthen their health systems and discharge their obligations under the right to health.

GE Healthcare and Access bank scheme were therefore born out of the necessity to provide the needed support to the Nigerian Healthcare environs, by providing healthcare finance at affordable rates and longer tenor.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.