Health care focus creates medical logistics opportunities

A greater focus on health care by governments in Africa is creating opportunities for companies specialising in the transport, storage and delivery of medicines, which are often time- and temperature-sensitive. According to Olabode Olajumoke, employee benefits actuary at Aon Hewitt South Africa, countries such as Nigeria and Kenya have already introduced national health care insurance programmes – and this will increase the demand for drugs. At present Gauteng is used as a distribution hub by organisations such as the non-profit Affordable Medicines for Africa (AMFA) Foundation, which works with commercial airlines, courier companies and private distribution partners in order to deliver medicines throughout the continent. Others are learning from existing systems. In Tanzania, Coca-Cola is helping the government to deliver anti-retrovirals to rural areas. The government’s Medical Stores Department is using Coca-Cola’s delivery maps and distribution partners in nine of the country’s regions in a public-private partnership. This also creates opportunities – and threats for port operators and companies working out of those ports. One freight forwarder FTW met in Zimbabwe had lost a contract because his client decided to route through Dar es Salaam rather than have to live with delays and customs hassles in Durban.