Dr. Luvindao lunches digital health technology for rural Nigerians, Africans, seeks legislation on telemedicine

Hope has finally returned to rural dwellers and low income earners in Nigeria and across Africa, as a digital health solution has been unveiled, to bring medical attention to their doorsteps. 

A young Medical Doctor and Health Philanthropist, Dr Esperance Luvindao, in partnership with OSAAT Africa Health Foundation and MENGA Healthcare Technology, yesterday unveiled the MENGA health technology in Nigeria and 6 other African countries.

MENGA is a digital health solution invented by Dr. Luvindao and has been in the works for the past couple of years, with the aim of assisting patients throughout African semi-rural areas and suburbs to gain access to prescribed medication without having to travel long distances or acquire out of pocket health costs through the conventional methods of consultation and medication acquisition. 

Speaking during the unveiling, which was done virtually across benefitting countries, Dr. Luvindao, who is also the Founder of OSAAT Africa Health Foundation, underscored the importance of the technology to rural dwellers, saying, arrangements were underway to get the nod of the World Health Organization, WHO, to launch MENGA in many more African countries and other developing nations. 

"The aim of MENGA, is to reduce the gap between the quality of healthcare afforded to those from lower socioeconomic groups versus that offered to higher socioeconomic groups, by ensuring timely consultation and acquisition of medication. The target group for the innovation is women, men and children between the ages of 1 and 50 living in African semi-rural areas and suburbs. 

"The process will entail patients consulting with the doctor on call through a messaging system that does not require internet connectivity, After which they will gain access to their medication at a MENGA located nearby, through ID scanning, finger print scanning or code. 

"If positioned in local supermarkets and service stations, MENGA can ensure that the entire process on the patient end does not require internet connectivity. We are hoping to get go ahead from WHO, to roll out in more countries. Nigeria is one of our biggest targets, due to lack of facilities at the rural areas! So we are pushing. So we'll work a lot with Nigerian public health leaders", she said.

Dr. Luvindao, however, said it would take legal frameworks and conducive government policies, for Nigerias to maximally benefit from the scheme, calling on the National Assembly of Nigeria and Parliaments in other countries to, as a matter of urgency, make legislations on telemedicine and digital health, and other laws within the heath sector, to make primary health care effective for the people in rural areas. 

She said, "Innovations like these speak to the need for legislation and policies that are forward thinking and meet the people at their point of need. Telemedicine has also aroused the debate on whether it removes the aspect of human contact, however, when approached from the aspect of augmentation as opposed to replacement, one may find that once we embrace digital health, it stands to benefit both patients and healthcare workers”.

Dr. Luvindao, who is a Forbes 30 Under 30 and member of Digital Health Expert Panel for the Africa CDC, bemoaned the mortality rate amongst rural dwellers in the country, confirmed the launch of MENGA for public use in Namibia, saying, it was successfully tested.

"Thousands of patients queue up daily at hospitals, overwhelming the healthcare workforce. Thus, regulated digital health may be the solution to advance quality healthcare, while reducing the burden of the traditional way of doing medicine. 

"MENGA is unique in that it provides real time access to a doctor and medication as opposed to a mere locker system. MENGA also allows patients to consult and access their medication in their native language, removing the barrier of language and comprehension. Lastly, MENGA’S medication packages are made from recycled paper, making it eco-friendly and efficient", she concluded. 

Dr. Luvindao and her team would be moving across Africa for sensitization, as they are also expected to visit the Ministry of Health, National Assembly, National Orientation Agency, amongst others, for smooth and conducive operation of MENGA in their respective countries.