Medtronic Africa Pty Limited | AmCham Member Of The Month.

Our member of the month for October is Medtronic Africa Pty Limited. Medtronic has been in existence for more than 30 years and offer therapies that treat nearly 70 conditions, including some of the world’s most challenging chronic diseases — like diabetes, obesity, cancer, and heart disease. With the integration of Covidien as their Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, they can address the healthcare needs of more people around the world than ever.

The company’s mission is to contribute to human welfare by application of biomedical engineering in the research, design, manufacture, and sale of instruments or appliances that alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. Also, to strive without reserve for the greatest possible reliability and quality in their products; to be the unsurpassed standard of comparison and to be recognized as a company of dedication, honesty, integrity, and service.

Medtronic has a legacy of innovation and unique position as the world’s largest medical technology company which allows them to play a central role in transforming healthcare in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa. They are also collaborating with new partners in new ways to create new innovations — ones that add both clinical and economic value. So that tomorrow, even more people can get the affordable care they need.

They believe everyone should have access to quality, affordable healthcare. The company also know that they lack the appropriate innovations to reach billions of patients who do not have access to their therapies and services. Designing innovative healthcare-access solutions in resource-limited settings requires a fundamentally different approach.

Formalized in 2016, Medtronic Labs is a distinct business within Medtronic that maximizes social impact alongside financial sustainability. Medtronic Labs designs healthcare delivery service models with and for underserved communities that integrate digital and product technologies across the patient care continuum. To amplify their impact and reach scale, they partner with local tech entrepreneurs, healthcare providers, NGOs, governments, and other stakeholders. Learn more…

About Allstar Insurance Brokers Limited

Allstar Insurance Brokers Limited recently joined AmCham Ghana as Gold Members. As a follow up, the Executive Secretary of the Chamber, Mr. Simon Madjie on Monday, October 22, 2018 visited the insurance brokers to interact with management.

Mr. Madjie had several conversations with the Managing Director of Allstar Insurance Brokers, Mr. Peter Osei-Duah. Their conversation among other issues, included the state of business and some advocacy strategies that AmCham Ghana can employ to better improve the business climate.

Allstar Brokers is a wholly Ghanaian owned limited liability broking firm with a unique strategy of providing bespoke services to individuals, corporate, affinity groups and SMEs. With experienced underwriters, and industry seasoned insurance professionals; Allstar Brokers has access to all insurers in Ghana, and several international partners, allowing risk to be reviewed and built from the ground up.

Mr. Peter Osei-Duah tells us about Allstar Insurance Brokers and shared some of their core functions in the video below.

 

Johnson and Johnson Holds Mental Health Stakeholders Meeting

Johnson and Johnson Medical Ghana held a stakeholders meeting in Accra on October 25, 2018 to discuss mental health issues. The event which was dubbed Mental Health Stakeholders Meeting was under the theme ‘Carving the Ideal Mental Health Journey Through Strategic Partnerships.’

The event brought together stakeholder from across the health sector, politicians, policy makers and a section of the general public.

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, who was the Chairman of the event assured stakeholders in mental health care that parliament will work towards the passage of the Legislative Instrument (LI) on Ghana’s Mental Health Act.

He said it was unfortunate that the five year old LI had not been passed, particularly so when its passage would help the Mental Health Authority operate efficiently.

According to statistics 41 per cent of Ghanaians had one form of psychological distress or another and 40 per cent of all cases at any general hospital have some relationship with mental health problem.

Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Authority, Dr. Akwasi Osei who was also a speaker at the event said, “Mental illness reduces lifespan by as much as 12 to 20 years and the high suicide rate of 1,500 deaths per year can be attributed to one mental disorder or another.”

The plight of mental health patients and health worker has been worsened with several challenges including lack of adequate funding.  Special guest of honor at the event, Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Her Excellency, Samira Bawumia attested to the fact of inadequate funding. “We cannot afford to lose workers because they can’t afford mental health care,” She said.

“We cannot be unconcerned and we need to act now. As a nation, it is imperative that we make mental health care a priority,” she stressed, and called for awareness creation on mental health and care.

The Country Manager of Johnson and Johnson, Ms Priscilla Owusu-Sekyere, said Janssen Pharmaceutica, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, was fostering mental health partnerships to ensure that no patient was left behind. She added that, her company is using innovative pricing to make mental health drugs cheaply available to patients.

She said Janssen was leading efforts at transforming mental health care by raising awareness, reducing the stigma associated with mental illness, building the capacity of healthcare professionals and improving access to health care.

On building the capacity of healthcare professionals, Ms Owusu-Sekyere said Janssen had so far sponsored 18 students to undergo a year’s training in mental healthcare delivery and improving access to health care.

Several suggestions were made at the meeting as to how mental health care delivery can be made more accessible, effective and efficient. Some of the suggestions were the inclusion of mental health care delivery into the NHIS, the establishment of a mental health board, the incorporation of mental health care into the general health care system and the preparation of a national prevalence data to guide policy and interventions.

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AmCham Ghana Joins USAID for Trade Africa Learning Event

Wednesday, October 24, 2018. The American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana led by the Executive Secretary, Mr. Simon Madjie joined U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for their Trade Africa Learning Event held in Accra, Ghana.

The event was under the theme, ‘Enhancing Ghana’s Trade Competitiveness: Lessons from the Trade Africa Partnership.’ The Trade Africa Learning event brought together Government of Ghana officials and other partners to share some achievements attained over the years and the opportunities available for Ghana to boost exports of Ghanaian products, and diversify its export base to high-value markets.

Since 2016, the “Trade Africa” initiative has provided $10 million to support the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement, improve phytosanitary standards, help Ghana overcome technical barriers to trade, and support policies that promote regional trade and investment.

AmCham Ghana has been a beneficiary of the USAID led initiative. The Chamber was assisted to improve on its communication and to effectively strengthen our advocacy capacity through regular engagement with top Government officials, policy makers and other stakeholders.

The Chamber’s Executive Secretary in his remarks acknowledged the assistance provided by USAID in organizing events during the period of engagement.  He stated that notable among them was the engagement with Her Ladyship, Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo. An event which brought together the custodians of the country’s laws and the business community under one roof to dialogue and find mutual grounds where law will aid business and vise versa.

The Trade Africa initiative has achieved several successes during its two year period. These include the support provided to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture vegetable export task force to improve quality standards in order to restore access by Ghanaian vegetable exporters to the European Union. This reduced the number of shipments intercepted by EU authorities drastically.

The figures dropped from 330 interceptions in 2014 to four (4) in 2017.

The event was attended by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah, Commissioner for the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Mr. Isaac Crentsil, the USAID/Ghana Acting Mission Director, Steven E. Hendrix and other key personalities.

USAID/Ghana Acting Mission Director, Steven E. Hendrix in his remarks said, “The U.S. government is proud to support the government through increased exports of Ghanaian goods and businesses to the world markets.”

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