Creating a new healthcare narrative for Africa
When healthcare specialists and technologists get together, the impact can change lives across communities, countries, and continents. Nneka Mobisson, MD, CEO, and Imo Etuk, CTO, co-founders of mDoc realised this early and were already working on powerful mobile solutions when COVID-19 arrived. Here Nneka shares her knowledge of the needs of people in different spaces across Africa in order to improve their health and help everyone live happier and more productive lives.
As a physician, Mobisson has managed countless patients, struggling with chronic diseases. She knows how vital holistic support is and how often it is not available while health care providers struggle for time with a constant inflow of patients. “Prior to co-founding mDoc, I became deeply frustrated when I saw the impact of siloed funding which made care more fragmented,” she says. “There was little funding to drive the preventive care and support in primary care and self-management that people with chronic health needs deserve.”
Mobisson reasons for founding the mobile health service are many but also very personal, “I co-founded mDoc because my father, a hard-working middle-class Nigerian professor, died prematurely from the complications of a massive stroke that he had at the age of 52 largely because he did not have access to a team of providers to support him on managing his uncontrolled high blood pressure. I saw firsthand the impact it had on him — effectively ending his transformative work in the technology landscape in Nigeria, the depression that emerged poststroke and his poor quality of life until he eventually died. I have no doubt that he would have lived if he had had the opportunity to engage with mDoc’s services.”
Her father was an engineer, passionate about technology and a man who wanted to give back to his country and apply his skills there. Mobisson was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the U.S. and grew up in Nigeria. Her father became a professor of computer science at a Nigerian University and was an enormous inspiration to many, and of course his daughter, “In some ways I think I am trying to follow his path.” Mobisson says.
mDoc is a mobile service designed to leverage quality improvement, behavioural science, data and digital technology to manage chronic disease in Africa. When it comes to COVID-19, it also has platforms to help prevent deaths and lower infection rates as well as empowering people with knowledge, hotlines and a directory for testing and treatment sites. During the pandemic, knowledge is power and fighting misinformation as well as providing a clear path for healthcare is vital for saving lives.
Digital news and action
When Mobisson first heard about the pandemic, her initial reaction was the same as so many observers, that this would be short-lived and localised, but the alert was in her mind and she started to track virus’ progress, “I get a lot of news from Twitter and so I started tracking what was happening in China, other Asian and European countries.
“In February 2020 we started working on anticipatory guidance for our members, converting what we could from the evolving evidence into information that would be useful.” mDoc tracked the virus ahead of the WHO’s recognition that it was a pandemic, as a result, it was able to leverage its own integrated self-care platform and amplify support to people with chronic health needs as well as women with reproductive and maternal health needs.
“It is an exciting time for innovation in the field of digital health.”
Mobisson is optimistic about the current state of innovation around healthcare at the moment but also pragmatic about the work that still needs to be done. “I think it is really hard to scale innovation when faced with challenges such as talent shortages, technology barriers, barriers caused by historical market disruptions for a variety of reasons and more,” she says. “But I do think it is an exciting time for innovation in the field of digital health. There is more interest and belief in its power than ever before which hopefully will help to catalyze the investment we need in multiple areas for telehealth to truly flourish in Africa.”
The impact of the pandemic continues to affect the lives of thousands across the African continent. But as Mobisson observes, “It depends on where you are. So many people have what they see to be bigger issues, such as hunger and basic living. Covid is the last thing on their minds.”
This being the case, there is plenty of work ahead for mDoc. For the coming year at least the team is looking forward to expanding into new markets and further leveraging its integrated care platform to suit new use cases.
Mobisson’s vision goes further, beyond the pandemic she has big plans, “I want to create a new narrative of self-care and health for Africa,” she says, “…and a new narrative for Africa overall.”
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