On October 14th, 2019, ESA and AXA signed a Memorandum of Intent to work together for better Healthcare in Africa.
Too many people in emerging countries are unable to obtain affordable access to healthcare due to a lack of social security, while huge gaps in coverage exist that are not being met by public services or private insurance. To help tackle this issue, ESA is joining forces with AXA in a partnership that will enable ESA’s cutting-edge expertise in satellite technology, data management, artificial intelligence and digitization to be harnessed for the provision of seamless and sustainable healthcare.
The partners are exploring how to leverage ESA’s satellite technology to provide remote areas with Internet coverage, as well as back up for urban areas to ensure the sustainability of our service. ESA and AXA aim to use digital services and technologies that don’t even exist yet in western markets, such as medication delivery to homes, teleconsultations, the concept of health coaches, and more. The technologies could leverage much more reliable and affordable healthcare, at costs that would have been unimaginable just 10 or 20 years ago. So the benefits to millions of African customers are threefold: accessibility, affordability and quality.
The partnership will start in Egypt, but any service developed for one market can be developed for anywhere else.
Hassan El Shabrawishi, CEO of AXA One Health expressed, “We signed our memorandum of intent between AXA and ESA, which is our first step. This memorandum is intentionally very broad because there are so many projects and technologies that ESA is willing to share with us”.
Nick Appleyard from ESA Business Applications and Space Solution said, “Healthcare in Africa is a good example of one of the common interests between ESA and AXA. The problems of infrastructure and access to health services can be greatly reduced by using satellite technology – and satellite services are available around the globe”.
AXA’s overall strategy of promoting healthcare in emerging countries.
Forming partnerships with public and private actors is at the core of AXA’s strategy. The Group is very keen to work closely with multilateral organizations on key topics, including health. AXA One Health initiative bases itself on the payer-to-partner principle, but doing so requires the support of an ecosystem of private, public and multilateral organizations, to achieve this aim of making healthcare more accessible for millions.
Benoit Claveranne, CEO AXA International and New Markets, commented, “Health systems in emerging markets are at a crossroads. As insurers, we have a role to play in expanding access to care and filling the gap when needed. We must adapt to these changes and provide health solutions that are relevant to local needs.”
The MOI will open the prospects of engaging into concrete projects within our respective programmes, to engage in the development of novel and sustainable services in emerging countries.