Health
P&G Steps up Menstrual Hygiene Campaign
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The campaign to raise awareness for menstrual hygiene among females has been intensified by Procter & Gamble (P&G).
Poor menstrual hygiene caused by a lack of education, persisting taboos and stigma, limited access to hygienic menstrual products and poor sanitation infrastructure undermines the educational opportunities, health, and overall social status of females around the world. As a result, millions of women and girls are kept from reaching their full potential.
According to UNICEF, one in 10 girls miss school for about 48 days in a year due to a lack of access to sanitary pads. In Nigeria, over 52 million women and girls experience menstruation with 70 per cent of them lacking access to sanitary pads.
To reaffirm its commitment to the improvement of menstrual hygiene management in Nigeria, P&G partnered with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, the Nigerian Governor’s Wives Forum, the National Centre for Women Development as well as other non-profit organisations to educate females on the issue.
This collaboration was in commemoration of 2021 Menstrual Hygiene Day and over 8,000 Always® sanitary pads were donated to its collaborators.
“At P&G, we recognize the importance of menstrual hygiene management towards the overall health, wellbeing and education of young girls in our society.
“This is why P&G and our Always® brands have partnered with the leading NGOs and government stakeholders to celebrate the World Menstrual Hygiene Day,” the P&G Senior Director for Africa, Global Government Relations & Public Policy, Mrs Temitope Iluyemi, said.
“We hope this will increase awareness around the vital role of good menstrual hygiene management, normalize conversations about the period and menstrual health part of life and empower women and girls.
“This partnership is in line with several other sustainability programs of P&G such as the Always Keeping Girls in School (AKGIS) program and our Always School program which has trained over 1 million girls on puberty education,” she added.
In her remarks, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Pauline Tallen, noted that, “Young girls and women should not have to pause their lives because it is that time of the month.
“The importance of adequate knowledge on good menstrual hygiene practices as well as access to menstrual hygiene products cannot be overemphasised.
“Females deserve to live in dignity with their heads held high both the government and private organisations should work together to ensure that poor menstrual hygiene is a thing of the past.
“Menstrual hygiene day is particularly important as it brings this conversation to the forefront. I would also like to thank P&G for their immense contribution over the years towards improving the lives of women across Nigeria.”
On her part, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, the leader of the Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum, stated that, “I say a very big thank you to the team at P&G for this partnership with NGWA GBV.
“I am very delighted that P&G has chosen to work with us as a collective. In the Nigeria Governor’s Wives Forum, this is a project we are all passionate about.
“We have discovered a strong link between period poverty and the issue of sexual exploitation of teenage girls. Therefore, we felt that this must be addressed both at a policy level as well as through community engagement.
“At the policy level, we are scandalized that Nigeria as a country still does not see it as important that every girl has access to sanitary protection.
“We feel that Nigeria should be way ahead of the discussion on whether sanitary products should be taxed or not. We feel that there should be zero tax on menstrual hygiene products, we believe that state governments should try as much as possible to make resources available so that we can bridge this period poverty gap.
“With the support from Procter & Gamble, we were able to celebrate menstrual hygiene day in a very significant way and we hope that this is the beginning of a very good partnership between the NGWF and P&G.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom has committed £2 million in grants to support Nigeria in strengthening her health workforce in the vision of achieving Universal Health Coverage.
The grant will cover two years to support the Nigerian government in optimizing the health workforce’s performance, quality, and impact through evidence-informed policies and strategies.
It is part of a larger UK support plan to boost and support healthcare staff recruitment and retention in three African countries – Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana.
In a statement, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Richard Montgomery, said, “A skilled, well-motivated and adequate health workforce is critical for Nigeria to #EndPreventableDeaths and build resilience against global threats.
“This UK International Development funding aligns with the Nigerian health workforce strategic plan and will help the country upskill its workers and improve health outcomes in the long run.”
The 2-year HRH project aims to support the government at federal and state levels and support regulatory bodies, professional associations, and other key stakeholders to develop transformative strategies for scaling up the quantity and quality of health workers, including competency-based curricula development and reviews.
It was announced that it will help to align investment in HRH with the current and future needs of the population and health systems; strengthen the capacity of institutions, including regulatory bodies, for effective public policy stewardship, leadership, and governance, optimize health workers’ retention, equitable distribution, and performance and strengthen the management of Health workforce data for monitoring and accountability. The project will implement interventions in Nigeria.
The project will draw on the technical capacity of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to strengthen health systems, including experience in implementing similar projects with appreciable results in the past.
Implementation at state levels, focusing on six states of Cross River, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, and Lagos, will build on the presence and technical support being provided to state governments through the 37 WHO sub-national offices in Nigeria.
“The strength of every health system reflects the capacity and adequacy of its health workforce, which are necessary to deliver quality services to address population health needs,” says Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Representative in Nigeria.
“Through the UK government’s generous support through WHO, we will deploy the technical support from the three levels of the organization to support the development of evidence-based policies and strategies, capacity building and management for improved planning and management of Nigeria’s health workforce”.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Helium Health, a Nigerian healthtech company, has raised a fresh $30 million to expand the reach of its fintech product, HeliumCredit.
The company, which provides Software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools, financing, and insights to healthcare providers and public health organizations, will use the latest injection to drive growth in some of its expanding verticals.
The round was led by AXA IM Alts with participation from Capria Ventures, Angaza Capital, Anne Wojcicki (Founder of 23&Me), and Flatworld Partners. Existing investors Global Ventures, Tencent, Ohara Pharmaceuticals, LCY Group, WTI, and AAIC also participated in the round.
This is the first of its kind since the healthtech company secured a $10 million Series A in 2020 and 18 months following a rare Africa-GCC deal involving UAE-based healthcare provider-patient interaction platform Meddy.
“We believe in a future where good healthcare is a reality for all Africans, not just the few. We are deeply committed to supporting both private healthcare providers and public health stakeholders with finance, technology, and data to achieve that vision. We are delighted to have such seasoned healthcare investors accompany us on our journey,” Mr Adegoke Olubisi, the CEO and co-founder of the company, said.
In this growth phase, Helium Health also looks to deepen its collaborations within the public health and global health communities, another core focus of its work. Global health funders contribute about 15 per cent of total health expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa and play a critical role in tackling the continent’s leading causes of death, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and maternal and child mortality.
On the part of the investors, Mr Jonathan Dean, Head of Impact Investing at AXA IM Alts, said, “We are delighted to invest, through AXA IM Alts’ impact investing strategies, in Helium Health’s mission of providing digital solutions to improve the quality and efficacy of health services in resource-constrained environments, whilst also directly equipping health sector enterprises with affordable financial services.”
“This investment directly contributes to AXA IM Alts’ broader impact goals of improving financial inclusion and reducing inequalities globally,” he added.
“We have seen first-hand the evolution of Helium Health over the years. The leadership team deeply understands Africa’s healthcare sector and knows how to build products that meet its nuanced needs,” added Mr Noor Sweid, Managing Partner, Global Ventures.
Launched in 2020, HeliumCredit has extended more than $3.5 million in credit to over 200 healthcare facilities in Nigeria, including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and diagnostics centres, which have used the loans to purchase medical equipment, medications in bulk and expand their locations. With easier access to credit, healthcare providers can increase patient retention, increase revenues, and improve the quality of care.
Helium Health will also launch HeliumCredit in Kenya this year, increasing its lending portfolio to 1,000 healthcare facilities by 2024 in partnership with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
Helium Health aims to be the leading technology partner for public health entities by supporting and implementing their programs and strategies in Africa. Helium Health has received funding from organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and MSD for Mothers to execute projects under their maternal health program strategies in the past year.
The company will also continue to scale its SaaS suite for healthcare providers through HeliumOS, its Electronic Medical Records and Hospital Management Information System (EMR/HMIS) solution. HeliumOS helps health facilities of any size or specialty run their operations more efficiently, increase revenues, and improve healthcare delivery.
By Adedapo Adesanya
HealthXP Limited, a healthcare technology firm, has introduced a groundbreaking application, myhealthXP, aimed at addressing the healthcare delivery crisis in Africa.
With numerous challenges facing the sector, including brain drain, poor infrastructure, lack of funding, inadequate access to healthcare facilities, and the mismanagement of health records, myhealthXP offers a seamless and innovative approach to healthcare delivery in Africa.
myhealthXP is an on-demand healthcare collaboration platform designed to connect individuals with highly qualified and verified doctors, laboratories, pharmacies, and caregivers. It facilitates efficient and convenient access to quality medical attention regardless of location. Through myhealthXP, Africans can access quality and affordable healthcare at their fingertips.
During the launch event held on May 25, the Keynote Speaker, Mr Eromosele Omomhenle, a Board Member of HealthXP Limited, highlighted the gaps in healthcare delivery and emphasized the role of technology as the future solution.
He emphasized the significant number of medical doctors who have migrated to the United Kingdom, thereby leaving a scarcity of licensed practitioners in Africa.
Similarly, Dr Daniel Omomhenle, a co-founder at HealthXP, expressed the potential for African medical professionals based abroad to leverage myhealthXP in giving back to their society by contributing their expertise to the African healthcare system.
HealthXP’s co-founder, Dr Kayode Ogunleye, stated, “Our aim is to use technology to bridge the gaps in the healthcare sector across Africa. We empower patients to take control of their health records, fostering collaboration between healthcare providers and patients.
“This is the path towards recovery and improved health for our nation. With technology, Africa will not miss the IT revolution, and myhealthXP aims to be at the forefront of this progress, benefiting Nigerians and Africa as a whole.”
Describing the innovation as the “democratization of healthcare,” Mr Seni Williams, Non-Executive Director, NPL Nigeria, emphasized the importance of patients’ control over their health records.
He highlighted the significance of myhealthXP in enabling patients to have total control of their medical information and share it securely with professionals worldwide.
On his part, Mr Israel Ayodele, Head of Product at HealthXP Limited, assured users of the app’s robust security measures and data protection protocols. “We prioritize the security and privacy of your data through end-to-end encryption, strong authentication, secure data storage, regulatory compliance, and user-controlled data sharing. Our commitment to continuously enhance our security measures ensures a safe and trusted environment for your information.”
Closing the event, Ms Comfort Olatunde, Director of Product Marketing, shared her personal experience with Nigeria’s healthcare system, underscoring the need for improved solutions.
She emphasized the user-friendliness of the myhealthXP app, which is now available for iOS users on the Apple Store and Android users on the Google Play Store in select African countries, as well as the US and UK. Comfort reassured users that HealthXP had implemented a thorough verification process for healthcare practitioners, ensuring their qualifications are up to standard. Additionally, plans are underway to expand myhealthXP into other countries across Africa.
