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Data-Driven Growth: How The Advantage Solution Is Reshaping Pharmacy Practices Across Africa

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6 months ago

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Are you a pharmacy owner or manager who wants to grow your business and practice while providing better healthcare access to your community?

Do you want to leverage the power of technology and data to optimize your operations, increase your revenue, and enhance your patient outcomes?

If yes, then you need to know about The Advantage, a solution that is transforming the pharma and healthcare sectors in Africa from the bottom up.

The Problems in the Pharma and Healthcare Sectors in Africa
The pharma and healthcare sectors in Africa face many challenges, such as low profitability, poor access, and lack of data.

According to the World Health Organization, Africa accounts for only 2% of the global pharmaceutical market, despite having 16% of the world’s population and 25% of the global disease burden.

Moreover, the continent suffers from a shortage of healthcare workers, facilities, and equipment, resulting in low quality and high cost of care. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of reliable and timely data on the health status, needs, and preferences of the population, making it difficult to design and implement effective interventions.

Advantage Health Africa launches The Advantage to help pharmacies accelerate their businesses in Nigeria

One of the reasons for these problems is that we mostly do not perceive healthcare from the eyes of the patients. We have so far seen healthcare from our professional eyes and that is why we have not explored the boundless opportunities of the ‘consuming’ behaviour of the people we serve.

As the first port of call for patients at the community level, there is a wealth of untapped opportunities embedded in collaborating with community pharmacies. Additionally, many pharmacies have not positioned themselves to optimise these opportunities!


The Advantage Solution
The Advantage Solution is a product of Advantage Health Africa, a health solution company that provides technology products and services to promote access to affordable and quality healthcare across Africa.

The Advantage Solution is not a software as a service, but a solution that deals with the problems in the pharma and healthcare sectors from the bottom up by empowering community pharmacies as the first port of call for patients. It offers the following features and benefits:

Real-time management and insights for pharmacy operations including procurement, branding, staff management, sales, inventory and patient data management. The Advantage Solution helps pharmacies to automate and streamline their workflows, reduce errors and wastage, and improve efficiency and productivity.

Predictive capabilities for disease prevalence and consumer behaviour. The Advantage Solution uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse data and generate insights that can help pharmacies to anticipate and respond to the health needs and preferences of their customers, as well as to identify and mitigate potential risks and opportunities.

Access to a platform for interoperability between different healthcare players. The Advantage Solution connects pharmacies to a network of other stakeholders in the healthcare industry, such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs), healthcare innovators, global funders, regulators, health and financial institutions, big pharma and distributors, and investors.

This enables pharmacies to access a wider market, offer more services, and collaborate on solutions that can improve and accelerate the healthcare ecosystem.

Access to consolidated data and a stronger distribution network. The Advantage Solution aggregates data from thousands of pharmacies across Africa, creating a rich and reliable source of information that can inform decision-making and policy-making.

It also leverages a robust and efficient distribution system that can ensure the availability and affordability of high-quality medicines and products.

By using The Advantage Solution, pharmacies can grow their businesses and practice, while serving multiple stakeholders in the healthcare industry.

Potential Impacts
The Advantage Solution has the potential to create a positive impact on the healthcare ecosystem in Africa, by reaching the following milestones:

10,000 Pharmacies in Africa: The Advantage Solution aims to onboard 10,000 pharmacies across Africa, creating a network of trusted and reliable healthcare providers that can serve millions of customers.

50 Million Patients’ Data: The Advantage Solution aims to collect and analyse data from 50 million patients across Africa, creating a valuable and comprehensive database that can inform and improve healthcare delivery and policy.

N2Bn Additional Revenue: The Advantage Solution aims to generate N2Bn additional revenue for the pharmacies that use the platform, creating a sustainable and profitable business model that can support the growth and development of the pharma and healthcare sectors in Africa.

AI-Powered: The Advantage Solution uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide smart and innovative solutions that can enhance the performance and efficiency of the pharmacies and the healthcare system.

Integrated Care: The Advantage Solution enables integrated care, by connecting pharmacies to other healthcare players and facilitating collaboration and coordination of care across the continuum.

FAQS
Is it free for Pharmacies to come on board?

Yes, it’s free. The Advantage Solution does not charge any upfront or subscription fees for pharmacies to join the platform.

How does Aha! make money from this?

Our growth is in the growth of the Pharmacies we work with. When they grow, we grow! We will be charging a tiny percentage of their revenue (1 to 2%) which can be factored to their margins.

Can the Pharmacies add more products to the Universal list?
Yes, they can. However, the products will be reviewed and approved by the Super Admin.
Is there a mobile version?
Right now, we have the web version. The mobile version will be out in the next couple of months.

Can this version be used by distributors, wholesalers etc?
For now, we are focused on the retail pharmacies. This version may come up later. For now, we simply want to plug in their API’s. However, we will be working on a value-added platform for big pharma, distributors and wholesalers to reach the pharmacies for a more structured and data-driven supply of medicines.

How do we ensure data security and privacy?
We have a robust data protection policy and a competent tech team to ensure cybersecurity.

We comply with the relevant laws and regulations on data protection and privacy, and we do not share or sell any personal or sensitive data without consent.

What is our plan to penetrate the pharmacies in rural areas?
Our vision is Africa-wide. We have a robust field force and business model, positioned to take the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and Africa.

We use various channels and strategies to reach out and onboard pharmacies in rural areas, such as referrals, partnerships, incentives, and awareness campaigns.

Can individuals plug in to order their medicines?
We have a solution for that, myMedicines. myMedicines is a platform that aggregates reputable pharmacies across Nigeria and delivers high quality medicine to customers through logistics and telepharmacy.

It also serves as a pharmacy benefit service for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in Nigeria. myMedicines will plug in its API backend where last mile persons can have access to the medications on THE ADVANTAGE.

In one sentence, what is our Unique Selling Point?
Our USP is creating a solution that provides access to growth, market, interoperability between different healthcare players and opportunities for retail pharmacies to accelerate their businesses and practice.

We accelerate growth of Pharmacies through access to market and operational success.

Conclusion
The Advantage Solution is a game-changer for the pharma and healthcare sectors in Africa. It empowers community pharmacies to become the concierge of wellness in delivering holistic care while driving sustainability and profitability in their businesses.

It also connects pharmacies to a platform that offers access to a world of opportunities for other healthcare players that will further improve and accelerate the healthcare ecosystem.

If you are a pharmacy owner or manager who wants to join The Advantage Solution, or if you are a healthcare stakeholder who wants to partner with us, please sign up for our waitlist.

You can also follow us on our social media handles for more updates and information. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the solution that is transforming healthcare in Africa.

Join The Advantage Solution today!

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Home delivery of passports to start in June, says Tunji-Ojo

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2 days ago

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May 25, 2024 12:51 pm

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Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, says home delivery of passports will start in June.

Tunji-Ojo spoke on May 24 when he inspected the electronic gates at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport’s new terminal in Abuja.

He said the delivery will not include every location to avoid overloading and damaging the system.

The minister said the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) would start home delivery in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Abuja.

Tunji-Ojo said for those in the diaspora, the service would begin in the United States and the United Kingdom, with testing to ensure its effectiveness.

According to the minister, the lack of data centres delayed the home delivery of passports.

He said NIS had been using a private company’s data centre but needed to establish a permanent solution to address the issue.

“We have completed the whole solution but when we came on board, we realised that the data centre was not really there,” Tunji-Ojo said.

“We were leveraging on a private company data centre and we appreciate them for that assistance. We think that it is better to create a permanent solution to problems rather than quick fixes.

“We could have done it in February but we had to build our data centre from scratch to be able to keep the integrity of our data and national security intact. This is more important.

“It is disgraceful that NIS is 61 years old and NIS is a custodian of biometric data of Nigeria and we believe that NIS should be in charge of the data of Nigeria.

“It is not acceptable that this data is domiciled in a third party and that is why we have been able to do this.”

Tunji-Ojo said the data centre has been constructed and the passport delivery solution has been resolved.

“It is about national security and I can assure you that It is comparable with anyone you can find anywhere in the world,” he said.

“We have built the data centre, sorted the passport delivery solution and done the final presentation in terms of technology deliverables and the tracking solution which will all be embedded in the application we have so we do not create multiple lines of failure.”

‘E-VISA PROCESSING TIME REDUCED TO 48 HOURS WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY’

Tunji-Ojo said the final presentation of the electronic visa has been completed, adding that it will reduce the visa processing time from 72 hours to 48 hours.

“The passport automation process is almost complete,” he added.

Also speaking, Kemi Nandap, comptroller-general (CG) of NIS, said over 107,000 passports are ready for collection and urged applicants to pick them up.

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Business

Naira gains at official window, depreciates at parallel market

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2 days ago

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May 25, 2024 11:30 am

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The naira depreciated to N1,510 against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday.

The current FX rate signifies a decline of 0.33 percent from the N1,505/$ reported on May 22.

Currency traders, also known as street traders, in Lagos, quoted the buying rate of the local currency at N1,485/$ and the selling rate at N1,510/$ — leaving a profit margin of N25.

At the official window, the naira appreciated by 0.19 percent against the dollar from N1,485.66/$ on May 23 to close at N1,482.81 on Friday.

According to FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the official window, a dollar was sold as high as N1,511 and at a low rate of N1,400 during trading hours.

The daily foreign exchange market turnover was $556.25 million.

On May 23, Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said the pains caused by ongoing monetary and fiscal reforms will soon be over if Nigerians remain focused on supporting the policies.

“As the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, I remain committed to repositioning the bank to deliver meaningful data-driven and sustainable solutions with a clear positive impact on the livelihood of all Nigerians,” he said.

“However, addressing these challenges requires the concerted effort of all stakeholders, especially the monetary and fiscal authorities working in harmony.”

Cardoso said the CBN will continue to implement bold reforms to make the economy work for all Nigerians, and the apex bank has started tightening monetary policy to combat inflationary pressure and produce favourable outcomes.

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Business

Turkish Airlines to resume flight operations to Nigeria today

Published

2 days ago

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May 25, 2024 7:30 am

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Turkish Airlines says it will resume flight operations to Nigeria on May 25 following the disruption of the company’s operations.

In a report by NAN on Friday, the airline said the decision came after discussions with officials from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) during which they assessed its request.

“Due to actions at our counter at the Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport that jeopardised our flight safety and continued for four days, we had to cancel our scheduled flights to Lagos as of Tuesday, May 21,” Turkish Airlines said.

“Turkish Airlines, prioritising the safety and security of its passengers and crew, will resume flights to Nigeria on Saturday, May 25, as it has done since 2006.

“As long as the NCAA and FAAN authorities take the necessary precautions and maintain safety of flights, crew, Turkish Airlines Lagos personnel, and passengers at the airport, we will continue to operate with the same sensitivity.”

Turkish Airlines said the decision was also influenced by a joint press release from the NCAA and FAAN, which announced that additional security measures would be implemented to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

The airline said Olubunmi Kuku, FAAN general manager, provided a written statement, promising to implement unprecedented measures to ensure the safety of its operations.

“We want to thank the authorities for the assurance they provided, and we will like to emphasise that Turkish Airlines is the airline flying to more countries than any other in the world,” the airline said.

“We adhere fully to the laws and regulations of the countries we operate in and act in accordance with international business ethics principles.

“We have informed the relevant authorities that we will not be able to carry out the scheduled flights until our flight safety is guaranteed and requested assurances from them.”

On May 22, NCAA said it would not hesitate to impose severe penalties on Turkish Airlines for its alleged mistreatment of Nigerian passengers.

NCAA said over 300 passengers were affected by the discord involving the Turkish Airlines and aviation unions, as the carrier has cancelled flights in and out of Nigeria from May 21 until May 23.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on May 21, picketed Turkish Airlines in Lagos over the dismissal of some of its members.

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