Data Is Making Medicine More Affordable And More Reliable In Africa

One of the many barriers to healthcare in the developing world is the high cost of medicines, in part due to disruptions in the supply chain. People never know if the pharmacy has what they need, or if they can afford it. 

mPharma is a revolutionary enterprise co-founded by Gregory Rockson. Thanks to mPharma, in five African countries, access to medicines is now more affordable and more reliable.

Rockson's initial idea was to create an electronic prescription system. With all the data they gathered in the process, they began to understand the magnitude of stock outs.

In many African countries, there is no price regulation, which means that pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies can charge whatever they want. Prices there become a volume-range arrangement, which is a disadvantage for small pharmacies. 

Taking all this into account, mPharma decided to centralize the procurement system and become procurement agents. The data they gathered in their initial phase gave them information on the movement of stocks, so they could manage the inventory. 

They provide the drugs at no cost, and the pharmacy only pays for what they sell, without assuming any risks. Of course, there are challenges, mainly due to (lack of) behavioral changes.