The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) has awarded US $5.25 million in scale-up stage 3 funding to Kenya’s Maisha Meds, a premier digital health organization in Africa.
A software platform called Maisha Meds makes sure that rural pharmacists and physicians efficiently buy high-quality, reasonably priced medications and provide patient subsidies.
The US $5.25 million in DIV funding, which will be distributed over three years, will help Maisha Meds expand its efforts to reach individuals throughout Africa who require accessible, high-quality care for malaria through private pharmacies, drug stores, and clinics that frequently act as their first and occasionally only point of care.
By the end of the grant period, Maisha Meds hopes to have expanded its mobile software to 7,500 pharmacies and clinics, providing subsidized care to almost a million patients, with additional support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Frontline pharmacies provide the bulk of malaria care across many parts of Africa outside of the formal health system, and technology can play an important role in improving the quality of care that they provide,” said Dr Jessica Vernon, founder and chief executive officer of Maisha Meds.
“We are thrilled that USAID DIV has provided additional support to scale our innovation in partnership with governments and pharmacy owners.”
Stage 3 grants, the highest funding tier offered by DIV, assist innovators in scaling up tested, financially sound solutions to pressing global issues. Maisha Meds uses partner funds as leverage to provide healthcare providers with incentives to adhere to best practices in malaria care and to provide patients with discounted testing and treatment. It offers comparable family planning and HIV prevention assistance.
