Newly appointed Philips Africa CEO (Market Leader) Jasper Westerink plans to accelerate development of the company's' health technology portfolio in the region.
"Society's key health challenges - ageing population, increase in chronic illnesses, endlessly rising health expenses - lead us to imagine new solutions. Mother and childcare is a key focus of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 3 and at the heart of what Philips is driving in Africa. According to UNICEF Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from the highest maternal mortality ratio in the world - with the region accounting for 66% of all maternal deaths per year worldwide. Healthcare solutions at grass root level need to be simple, easy-to-use, educative, attuned to cultural norms and importantly not be dependent on electricity or batteries. Providing relevant and sustainable solutions that have real social impact has been at Philips' core in Africa and this is the inspiration for me," explains Westerink.
Westerink joins the Africa organisation from his posting in Indonesia where he was the MD of Philips Personal Health. He spent a couple of years as the head of the Consumer Lifestyle portfolio for Philips in SA before relocating to Indonesia.
The biggest challenges with creating effective solutions in Africa is the difficulty in facilitating connections among suitable resources, people and technologies and affordability, he says. "The challenge is not simply to develop new products. We also need new services and new business models. We want to team up with key stakeholders to improve healthcare delivery in the areas of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), maternal and child health, and healthcare infrastructure, delivery and clinical training."
Addressing the affordability matter, he says the plan is to bring in Philips Capital, a subsidiary which specialises in funding solutions such as leasing and getting loans. "We subscribe to shared-risk results based models as opposed to conventional transactional payments. As mentioned before we will also be building-up and maintaining relations with government and business groups to address environmental challenges and/or opportunities."
With regards to SA, Westerink says the most logical step is to leverage the existing innovations, technology and services, and address key needs. "The digitisation of healthcare enables us to provide connected care, which is a big trend at the moment. Every day technologies like the Internet, video, cellular and other communication tools make new ways of delivering healthcare possible and affordable for remote areas. Easy-to-use, hand-held devices and other digital technologies will have a central role in overcoming health issues in the emerging economies."
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