To Thrive, Access To Medicines Must Take Precedence In The Healthcare Sector; Axmed

By Isaac OGANGA

In Kenya, as in many parts of the developing nations, good health is fundamentally revered as a provider of financial security and stability to individuals and businesses alike.

However, despite its importance, the healthcare sector has often been perceived as a slow adopter of new technologies in favour of its traditional modus operandi, coupled with

To truly expand and thrive in the post pandemic era, it is imperative that our healthcare system not only embraces digital transformation and innovation in line with evolving consumer patterns, but also ensures access to medicines to those who need them more and at friendly costs.

This was the rallying call Thursday during the launch of Axmed Medicines Platform and at its inaugural Axmed Access Summit in Nairobi.

Themed, “Unlocking Access, Transforming Lives,” the summit brought together global leaders, changemakers, and innovators to address systemic barriers to healthcare and explore actionable strategies for meaningful change.

Key among the challenges affecting the sector, experts noted, were availability of drugs to those who need them most, existence of substandard medicines and cost element in the supply chain, that is besides the rapid technological advances impacting the sector today.

The Axmed Medicines Platform is reimagining how underserved health systems and their populations access life-saving medicines. By leveraging technology and an innovative business model, Axmed addresses deep-rooted inefficiencies in healthcare procurement that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

According to the World Health Organization, over 80% of global population growth in the next decade will occur in LMICs—regions already carrying the heaviest disease burdens globally.

“These regions face extraordinary challenges but also present immense opportunities for healthcare transformation,” said Emmanuel Akpakwu, CEO of Axmed. “Our platform tackles these inequities by consolidating fragmented systems, empowering buyers with efficiency, high quality, and affordability, while enabling suppliers to scale sustainably in untapped markets.”

He noted that the platform is open to all qualified procurers and aggregates demand across healthcare providers, hospitals, and governments, creating unmatched purchasing power for buyers. For suppliers, it streamlines the procurement process and enhances transparency and reliability, ensuring medicines reach the communities that need them most.

More than 60 leading organizations spanning the entire medicines delivery value chain are actively engaging with Axmed to enhance access to high-quality medicines. These include global, regional and local pharmaceutical manufacturers, governments, major buyers, and a coalition of leading logistics companies.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for health Dr Deborah Barasa, underscored the importance of family health, highlighting for instance that maternal and newborn deaths represent some of the most profound challenges for families and for our nation as a whole, stressing the need for a transformative role of innovation-driven partnerships.

“Prioritizing innovation across the healthcare value chain is critical to delivering medicines and care at scale, and it remains a key focus for our government. We strongly believe in partnerships that truly empower our country to serve more patients with greater efficiency and impact.”