Categories
Participants:
Format:
Supplied Moderator Questions and notes for answers:
Africa, with some of the fastest-growing economies in the world and yet facing huge challenges, presents a massive opportunity for those wishing to invest. It also represents a risk for philanthropists, both home-grown and from abroad, due to key issues that Governments all over the continent must deal with in order to facilitate effective philanthropy and foster investments.
There are three crucial areas to be addressed: the infrastructure gap, confidence of investors in transparent, long-term projects, and the unreleased potential of girls and women.
The lack of infrastructure has a significant impact on economies across Africa, as potential investors from abroad are often deterred and home-grown investors face a struggle to realise and scale their projects.
The effect of the infrastructure gap is of course most keenly felt in people’s day to day lives. This gap, specifically in the primary healthcare system and the corresponding infrastructure, is the reason that I founded the Wellbeing Foundation Africa: so that all women and children can access the healthcare they need. I established Mamacare classes, where women can receive ante-natal education on a weekly basis, delivered by a qualified midwife. I am also a keen advocate of strengthening primary healthcare infrastructure, establishing community clinics so those in remote areas are able to access services in a timely manner.
Without access to effective healthcare and other essential infrastructure, enterprises struggle to operate. A lack of quality roads and transport means that people – and by definition, potential employees – are unable to access education and workplaces. The results of this are dramatic. According to research from The World Bank Group (WBG), the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, with a combined population of 800 million, generate roughly the same amount of power as Spain, with a population of only 45 million.
The lack of investment in infrastructure in Africa has reduced our ability to trade with the rest of the world and has had an impact on the buoyancies of economies across Africa, as large multinational businesses look to engage with countries with more advanced infrastructure.
Addressing this infrastructure gap is a key step to creating an environment in which philanthropy and investment can flourish.
Governments also need to explore avenues which address corruption and a lack of transparency. An openness to public-private partnerships will help those home-grown philanthropists who have the financial resources and innovative visions of the private sector with the scale and support of the public sector. Governments in developing countries are becoming more aware of the need to protect rights and contracts of foreign investors to prove they are sound places to invest going forward.
These partnerships feed back into addressing the infrastructure networks whilst providing stability and security for donors and investors. I know how they can work from first-hand experience. At the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, our initiatives such as the Personal Health Record (PHR) and the Safe Delivery Kit – otherwise known as the ‘Mama Kit’ – have been adopted into the very frontline of the Nigerian health system. The Personal Health Record is a very simple idea with a significant impact. We took a system that has been in use in the UK for many years and adapted it to suit the Nigerian health system. The PHR enables expectant mothers and midwives to track pregnancy progress and highlights the importance of immunisation and birth registration. The little green book puts real time patient data in the hands of expectant mothers, giving them the agency to take control of their health records and care. This addressed a very real need in Nigeria’s approach to maternal health. The Mama Kits share this principle of giving mothers access to the simple tools that can save their lives. These clean birthing kits include all necessary materials and consumables to achieve a safe childbirth, transforming any incidental delivery location to the likeness of an equipped health facility.
That brings me to the urgent need for Governments all over Africa to unleash the potential of our women and girls. The unmet need for contraception, the massive gender inequality, the lack to essential healthcare – these challenges are holding back philanthropy and our economies. The Copenhagen Consensus Centre reports that for every $1 spent on family planning, benefits worth $120 are reaped. Women are key to achieving the demographic dividend that comes with an interplay of reduced total fertility rate, an expanded base of working-age population, and improved educational, infrastructural and healthcare investments, and because, according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 225 million women in developing countries would like to delay or stop childbearing but are not using any method of contraception, while we are also aware that the benefits of family planning go beyond women and mothers. Governments can help philanthropists and investors access a better-educated, safer and healthier workforce by providing basic healthcare to its population.
In doing so, we will certainly find that we have a growing number of women who are able to reinvest in their country as businesswomen and philanthropists.
The enormous benefit of governments partnering with philanthropists is avoiding the “one size fits all” approach. At the WBFA, we never sought to work against the local context or alienate existing organisations. Instead we collaborate with stakeholders and existing structures to create innovative but pragmatic measures which have an enormous impact on health outcomes.
We have partnered with regional and national administrations with the result that our initiatives such as the Personal Health Record (PHR) and the Safe Delivery Kit – otherwise known as the ‘Mama Kit’ – have been adopted into the very frontline of the Nigerian health system. The Personal Health Record is a very simple idea with a significant impact. We took a system that has been in use in the UK for many years and adapted it to suit the Nigerian health system. The PHR enables expectant mothers and midwives to track pregnancy progress and highlights the importance of immunisation and birth registration. The little green book puts real time patient data in the hands of expectant mothers, giving them the agency to take control of their health records and care. This addressed a very real need in Nigeria’s approach to maternal health. The Mama Kits share this principle of giving mothers access to the simple tools that can save their lives. These clean birthing kits include all necessary materials and consumables to achieve a safe childbirth, transforming any incidental delivery location to the likeness of an equipped health facility.
The effect of our partnerships is transformative. I can report that despite dire national mortality indices, we have not lost even one of our over 200,000 Mamacare mothers to death. Each mother has, moreover, achieved the new WHO benchmark recommendation of at least 8 antenatal visits, which is perhaps the secret of our 100% survival rate. However, our midwives cannot operate effectively in isolation. They need the support of a functioning health system with equipment, medicines and appropriate training and appreciate the importance of both utilising and optimising global partnerships.
There is a willingness of Governments to engage with philanthropists, charities and organisations with a track-record of success and transparency.
The colossal impact of the Gates Foundation can be used as a model for the best strategies to pursue. That model is not a one-size fits all approach but one that works closely with Governments, NGOs, the private sector and, crucially, communities, to find the most effective ways to engage.
Governments need to be encouraged to have ongoing regular dialogue with philanthropists who, in turn, need to respect provide attainable suggestions to policy makers and other charities to be most effective.
The strategies that are most likely to fail are ones that seek to work against local contexts and existing structures. At the WBFA we collaborate with stakeholders and communities to create innovative but pragmatic measures which have an enormous impact on health outcomes.
The benefit of engaging with local communities and fostering relationships with regional governments is that it allows philanthropists and social investors to be effective. Regional governments in turn should help partners to identify what is most pressing and what the public sector can do to facilitate investment and social action.
Philanthropists can however force the issue – with tact, of course. 14 years ago I began counting the deaths of mothers and their children. I then took it upon myself to meet the health minister and so began the Wellbeing Foundation Africa.
We have partnered with regional and national administrations with the result that our initiatives such as the Personal Health Record (PHR) and the Safe Delivery Kit – otherwise known as the ‘Mama Kit’ – have been adopted into the very frontline of the Nigerian health system. The Personal Health Record is a very simple idea with a significant impact. We took a system that has been in use in the UK for many years and adapted it to suit the Nigerian health system. The PHR enables expectant mothers and midwives to track pregnancy progress and highlights the importance of immunisation and birth registration. The little green book puts real time patient data in the hands of expectant mothers, giving them the agency to take control of their health records and care. This addressed a very real need in Nigeria’s approach to maternal health. The Mama Kits share this principle of giving mothers access to the simple tools that can save their lives. These clean birthing kits include all necessary materials and consumables to achieve a safe childbirth, transforming any incidental delivery location to the likeness of an equipped health facility.
The effect of our partnerships is transformative. I can report that despite dire national mortality indices, we have not lost even one of our over 200,000 Mamacare mothers to death. Each mother has, moreover, achieved the new WHO benchmark recommendation of at least 8 antenatal visits, which is perhaps the secret of our 100% survival rate. However, our midwives cannot operate effectively in isolation. They need the support of a functioning health system with equipment, medicines and appropriate training and appreciate the importance of both utilising and optimising global partnerships.
Across Africa corruption and a lack of transparency negatively impact the potential for effective philanthropy and investment. Tackling corruption and enhancing transparency on the continent will not happen overnight – we will need the support and backing of multinationals who choose to do business on the continent and both the public and private sector to ensure there is transparency at every step.
Governments need to explore avenues which address corruption and a lack of transparency. An openness to public-private partnerships will help those home-grown philanthropists who have the financial resources and innovative visions of the private sector with the scale and support of the public sector. Governments in developing countries are becoming more aware of the need to protect rights and contracts of foreign investors to prove they are sound places to invest going forward.
Categories
The e-health check tool is available for free at https://covid19.wbfafrica.org/ and users can access real-time updates on how to stay connected, safe, and healthy during the pandemic on Instagram and Twitter @Wellbeing_PPMD, and @WellbeingPPMD on Facebook.
