Meet 3 Women
Improving Lives
THE
CHALLENGE
The Middle East and North Africa have high rates of chronic illness, and access to prescriptions can be difficult. Some patients take dayslong trips for refills—and arrive at pharmacies to find medications unavailable.
THE
SOLUTION
In 2017, Rasha Rady founded CHEFAA, an AI-powered platform for pharmacies that’s revolutionizing access to prescriptions. Patients enter prescriptions on a GPS-enabled app that locates the nearest pharmacy, which then accepts and confirms the order using a companion app. CHEFAA also offers online payment capabilities so family members can help with remote transactions.
THE
IMPACT
CHEFAA now serves more than 4.5 million monthly users across its platforms, and during the pandemic, it introduced CHEFAA Prime, an employee medical benefits platform offering an end-to-end healthcare experience for a flat subscription fee. CHEFAA data is also being used to help pharmacies understand the geographical distribution of common diagnoses, so they can better allocate medications across the region.
THE
CHALLENGE
Nigeria has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, with over 500 deaths per 100,000 live births. One reason is a blood shortage. When patients experience sudden, excessive blood loss, healthcare providers have only minutes to save them—and without quick access to blood, the results can be devastating.
THE
SOLUTION
After realizing how lucky she was to survive a difficult delivery, in 2016 Temie Giwa-Tubosun launched LifeBank, which delivers blood to hospitals in its service area within 55 minutes, any time of day. This allows healthcare providers to give patients more lifesaving care instead of searching for blood. LifeBank also delivers oxygen canisters, vaccines and more.
THE
IMPACT
LifeBank has expanded beyond Nigeria into Kenya and Ethiopia. Since 2016, Giwa-Tubosun’s team has transported 155,569 units of blood and other medical products, and served 1,200 hospitals, saving over 40,000 lives. The name of each life saved hangs on a wall in the company’s office.
THE
CHALLENGE
Chronic noncommunicable disease is on the rise in Africa. The World Health Organization anticipates 28 million additional deaths on the continent by 2030. Because so many resources are already dedicated to diseases like HIV and malaria, the chronic disease crisis has yet to be seriously addressed.
THE
SOLUTION
Nneka Mobisson lost her father to complications from a stroke, which he may have survived with better access to healthcare. In his honor, Mobisson cofounded mDoc, whose digital platform connects chronic disease sufferers with a multidisciplinary healthcare team. Users can access blood sugar testing, health coaching, in-person home visits and more.
THE
IMPACT
mDoc provides healthcare to more than 61,000 users. The company’s tele-education services now reach 25 African countries, and mDoc has trained more than 7,000 healthcare providers. Mobisson’s team has also launched general digital literacy education hubs to both expand access to mDoc and help unlock Africa’s economic potential.