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Mercy Ships’ fleet serves populations that live within 100 miles of the coast, where the skills and services that the Mercy medical professionals offer – such as high-level surgery – are not available anywhere ashore. The donation of Philips CT imaging equipment will enable Mercy Ships to screen patients for pre- and post-surgical interventions, and deliver capacity-building healthcare education programs and infrastructure capabilities to reinforce sustainable care for Africa. Philips Foundation and Mercy Ships continue to discuss further collaboration and knowledge exchange in order to improve access to quality healthcare for these communities.
Copyright ICRC - Photograph by Sigrid Kopp
Mother and childcare is a key focus of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, with 99% of maternal deaths occurring in developing countries. The development of the high-risk pregnancy toolkit is being sponsored by the Philips Foundation and Philips, based on the needs of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The High-Risk Pregnancy Toolkit will include a durable dual-function carry bag containing a pocket-sized waterproof and tear-proof set of cards, which doubles as a teaching aid, plus a battery-less fetal stethoscope that allows both the health worker and expectant mother to hear the baby’s heartbeat. The ICRC plans to deploy the cards in 100 primary care facilities across eight African countries, with the ambition to reach 75,000 pregnant women.
In collaboration with UNICEF, Concern Worldwide, the Kenya Maker Space at the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta Hospital, Gearbox and the Government of Kenya, Philips professionals helped students to develop innovative, low-cost, locally designed medical devices to improve access to quality care for women, newborns and children. The project aims to develop key innovations and bring them to communities in need.
Logistics and equipment management challenges are a key bottleneck in the delivery of quality healthcare in many public-health facilities across Kenya and other countries. The Philips Foundation is working with UNICEF and the local government on a project to address this issue by systematically assessing all medical devices and equipment in public-health facilities, starting with a pilot in Kakamega county, and using the findings to develop an efficient equipment management and maintenance system.
The Philips Foundation is supporting Amref Health Africa (known as Amref Flying Doctors in the Netherlands) to conduct research aimed at developing a solid business case for public-private partnership (PPP) cooperation in healthcare. The study will build upon the internationally recognized vision that strengthening primary care is the most efficient and effective way to improve a developing nation’s healthcare system and, in turn, achieve universal health coverage. In Makueni county, Kenya, more than 61% of people live in poverty. Primary care services are of low quality due to ill-equipped facilities, staff shortages and a lack of sustainable funding. The government of Makueni county is considering the outsourcing of primary care clinics through PPP in order to improve the quality of healthcare services. Following this strategy, Amref, the Philips Foundation and Philips have been working with the Makueni Government to develop a PPP model for primary care. This model combines Amref’s strength in training and managing health workers, with the Philips Community Life Center platform and the government’s potential to ensure financial access to care for all.