Healthcare sector: Some of health issues to watch this year
Last year was a defining one for the healthcare sector, as it witnessed extremely vital and path-breaking industry achievements.
Covid-19 pandemic almost entirely changed how the healthcare sector operates in different countries.
A report by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) shows healthcare has never been more important to the global economy than during the past two years, and it will be central to the economic recovery post the pandemic.
Ana Nicholls, Director of Industry Operations at EIU, says though going forward the sector is set to experience more trends the four major things to watch this year globally include pumping of more money into the sector, more African countries venturing into vaccine production, the EU tightening MedTech regulations and China improving regulation of health apps.
“There will be more money available for healthcare systems in 2022, however, it’s doubtful whether it will be enough to cope with the demand for both Covid and non-Covid treatment.
Tackling the huge backlog of diagnoses, surgeries, and other treatments will be very difficult, given staff fatigue after the pandemic.
Competition for international healthcare workers could also get intense,” said Ana in a statement.
Healthier lifestyles
She adds that since less than five per cent of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, partly because of problems with securing supplies, in 2022 Africa’s vaccine-manufacturing capacity will expand.
From late this year, the Pasteur Institute of Dakar in Senegal will start producing 25 million doses of coronavirus vaccines a month, with international backing.
Besides production, discussions about vaccine equity will also continue as the world grapples with rising Omicron cases.
World Health Organisation’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the only way to end the pandemic is through vaccine equity.
“While no country is out of the woods from the pandemic, we have many new tools to prevent and treat Covid-19,” he said at his New Year’s day address.
“The longer inequity continues, the higher the risks of this virus evolving in ways we can’t prevent or predict. If we end inequity, we end the pandemic,” he added.
As such activities around Covid-19 and any possible pandemic and epidemic will gain momentum.
Already, efforts are underway to strengthen global network for global health.
“In 2022, countries will start negotiating a global pandemic accord to strengthen the governance, financing, and systems and tools the world needs to prevent, prepare for, detect and respond rapidly to epidemics and pandemics,” added Dr Tedros.
Peter Mwangi, a nurse, says that other health trends that are set to take centre stage this year include HIV vaccine, healthier lifestyles, health infrastructure among others.
He adds that since in 2021 Johnson & Johnson’s HIV vaccine failed first efficacy trial, in 2022, researchers and developers will focus on the ongoing study of yet another vaccine Mosaic Study (HVTN 706/HPX3002), which is in its third phase.
The study is testing the safety and efficacy of a different composition of the HIV vaccine regimen among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender individuals.
Preventative care
“One company and other actors are also set to start testing an mRNA version of a possible HIV Vaccine.
Moderna is leading the study in collaboration with several universities, and was in recruitment status as of December 2022,” says Mwangi.
Peter says more people have been committing to living healthier lifestyles before, and this year will not be an exception; there is a likelihood for more people to prioritise their health and fitness.
This increased interest in can be attributed to factors such as technological advancements and ease of access to credible information and better healthcare services.
Since 2021 was a challenging year for Kenya’s health sector as the lethal third wave of Covid-19 resulted in an unprecedented number of deaths since hospitals were overcrowded, intensive care units were at full capacity and oxygen cylinders run out, Mwangi says this year, the government and private sector will continue to improve healthcare infrastructure to ensure that the sector is fully equipped to face new challenges.
“Last years’ experience served as a valuable lesson for the entire healthcare industry, leading to the resurrection and upgrading of health infrastructure in both the public and private sectors.
Improvement of healthcare infrastructure is expected to continue even this year.
The government is determined to ensure that there is a solid infrastructure in place to help counteract the possibility of other Covid-19 waves as well as other outbreaks,” says Mwangi.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a shift in healthcare service delivery.
Technology has proven crucial and there has been widespread adoption of virtual delivery of healthcare services.
There has also been a rise in consumption of digital healthcare services since the outbreak of the pandemic and more people across geographies are embracing it.
Consultant nutritionist, Kepha Nyanumba says that despite all that has been going on over the previous years, digitisation of healthcare will continue to play a major role this year.
“Telemedicine trend will continue in 2022. At Crystal Health Consultants we have seen increased uptake of virtual nutrition coaching.
During the lockdown, both patients and the healthcare practitioners realised the importance of digitisation and we expect this trend to continue going forward,” said Nyanumba.
Other trends according to Nyanumba are weight management, digestive and mental health as well as preventive healthcare.
He says weight management has always been a concern for most people over the years and is likely to continue in 2022.
People will also prioritise digestive health since digestive disorders have become common.
“My advice to people who will be looking into this is to ensure they have a complete lifestyle change for them to succeed. Successful weight loss involves permanent lifestyle change including a healthy diet and regular physical activity,” added Nyanumba.
Since the pandemic has led to increased levels of stress and placed great pressure on people’s mental health, Nyanumba says this year, most people will focus on mental wellness by seeking nutrition and counselling services.
On preventive healthcare, Nyanumba had this to say “Chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are increasing at an alarming rate.
With increased awareness on the relationship between chronic diseases and Covid-19, most people will seek preventive healthcare services in 2022.”
Dr Anita Gupta, a C-Suite Healthcare Executive Leader, Board Member, and Anaesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the life science industry (industry involved in manufacturing of drugs and devices to better the lives of organisms) will move towards a model of social impact-focused on Environment, Sustainability, Governance (ESG) and customised therapies for specific patient populations.
This strategic initiative will help these companies continue to grow and expand their product lines, as well as help them bring their new therapies to market.
“If life sciences companies want to remain competitive, they must look to manufacturing and supply chain partners that can help them streamline processes as well as socially responsible products that support environmental goals.
This may help to meet not only financial benchmarks, but also the patient-centric benchmarks that will likely take hold in the future,” said Gupta.
Staying digital
She also revealed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will find more game-changing use cases because medical professionals will continue to leverage data analytics to accelerate biotechnology innovation.
According to her, researchers have trained machines to recognise distinct patterns that indicate how a person will metabolize drugs, enabling them to more accurately predict how effective medication will be.
“AI is already being applied across the healthcare sector. However, despite all this, challenges still exist in making AI practical for many companies, but making progress during 2022 is possible with the right partners and regulatory expertise,” says Gupta.
On telemedicine, she says that as the healthcare landscape continues to change, providers will continue to embrace technology to help improve patient outcomes.
Finding more consumer-facing solutions that are hybrid models, including both face-to-face and telemedicine, could be the future while making telemedicine more mainstream and improving consumer access.
“Challenges will continue to emerge regarding the best way to use telemedicine effectively, but more virtual options are likely on their way,” she added.
Alexander Kireria, an international Health Economist and a Senior Research Fellow at Health Metrix Social Research Centre, says of all expectations citizens have of the government, health will rank the highest given the escalating Covid-19 cases.
The high prevalence of diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases will dominate the debate in 2022, with a view of getting the government to act expeditiously
He adds that to ensure Kenyans access equitable quality health care, the Government must pull its socks and move fast to fix a number of things.
First off, it needs to Accelerate the implementation of the Universal Health Care agenda at county level through devolved policy and legislative frameworks aligned to 2010 constitution.
“It needs also to strengthen National-County Health Sector Intergovernmental Partnerships and Coordination Framework, which is currently weak, to ensure both levels of governments are pulling together to address health care sustainability.
The Council of Governors need to be proactive in both negotiation for better funding and CEM support to overcome underlying health challenges currently being experience at county level,” he advises.
Kirera is also quick to caution the government against jumping at expensive, high sounding projects instead of dealing with the basics by fixing the most priority areas that translate directly to access to affordable quality of care.
Such areas include efficient functioning of health facilities, ensuring availability and adequacy of medicine and good remunerations of health personnel to enhance motivation and productivity of health care.
“Plans are underway for Kenya to build an Atomic Energy facility for cancer treatment. While this is a worthy venture, there is need to conduct adequate feasibility studies to ensure all nut and bolts that cause government mega initiatives to crumble does not occur and citizens will get value for money,” he says.
