E-health startup TeleAfya has launched in Kenya, allowing patients to find and connect with community medical practitioners.
Launched in May, TeleAfya has rolled out a provider discovery system that allows users to identify and contact medical professionals, nearby emergency services, local diagnostic lab centres, pharmacies and medical delivery services, and local transport and ride providers.
It has also developed a digital symptoms tracker that disseminates severity alerts and information to healthcare providers and government entities to fight infectious diseases, and a telemedicine system that allows patients to consult with doctors and clinicians using state of the art video-calling.
Founder Vincent Chepkwony told Disrupt Africa the majority of communities in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole faced healthcare challenges such as overcrowded emergency departments, lack of coordinated care, and, in the modern era, lack of efficient COVID-19 detection and contact tracing systems.
“There is a lack of viable telemedicine solutions, and a lack of interconnected systems connecting the entire healthcare ecosystem from grassroots micro-clinics in rural areas to level five referral hospitals,” Chepkwony said.
“Our solution seeks to provide wellness solutions within one app, integrating the entire healthcare ecosystem so patients can have a range of options when looking for care.”
Self-Funded and grant-seeking, TeleAfya has already launched its Android app, which has been downloaded around 1,000 times, and partnered with two regional clinics to help raise awareness about the solution in Kenya.
Chepkwony said it plans to launch in Tanzania this month, and is targeting 100,000 downloads across the two countries by the end of 2021.
TeleAfya is one of the 180 African e-health startups featured in Disrupt Africa’s latest report – High Tech Health: Exploring the E-health Startup Ecosystem Report 2020. The report finds Africa’s e-health sector is booming as startup numbers and investment levels have reached record highs, and looks at the impact of COVID-19 on the development of the sector.
