Cure me, maybe? 🤒

Five takes from a hospital bed in Kenya

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Hey 👋🏽 Caleb here.

Before we dive in, an announcement:

We’re coming to South Africa 🇿🇦 next month!

This time, we’re doing two stops:

First, we’re landing in Joburg (the Father City) a Tech Safari Mixer. It’s our first time in town, grab your tickets here.

Then, we’re back in Cape Town (the Mother City) for a Tech Safari Startup Side event next to Africa Tech Festival. Scoop up your tickets here.

Come by for a night (or two) of connection, insights, awesome speakers and great times.

See ya next month and grab your early bird tickets before they go ⚡

Alright, let’s dive in.

Two weeks ago I was admitted to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi.

At 27, it was the first time I’d been admitted to a hospital in my life.

And it was terrifying.

Having no idea what’s going on with your body - just intense pain, fever and rashes.

Nurses in and out all night taking vitals, drawing blood and pumping you with meds.

Meanwhile, family is halfway across the world.

We still don’t know how I ended up in hospital.

But over time I got strength back.

Since my doctors and family banned me from working, I decided to pick up an old hobby (writing) to pass the time.

Plus, when life gives you lemons you’ve got to make lemonade (and juice that for content 😉).

And jamming with doctors, family, and friends in African healthcare has shown me some clinical truths we need to talk about.

Two weeks in hospital. 5 takes on African health crises. First time on steroids.

So - here are my five hospital bed takes two weeks in hospital - about how Africa deals with its health crises.

1. I handled my health crisis like the top 1% do

Over the last two weeks I’ve had:

  • Teams of accessible doctors working around the clock to figure out what’s happening.

  • A clean, private room

  • Friends and family who can make time to visit

  • No serious financial concerns because I have insurance.

First-class experience at Aga Khan Hospital

I don’t take it for granted.

But it makes a point:

How I dealt with my healthcare is the top 1% in Africa deal with their healthcare.

Getting care in itself is a privilege.

Having family to check in, even from afar, is a privilege.

Friends bringing me food and bringing me supplies is a privilege.

But the biggest privilege is that my health crisis won’t turn into a financial disaster.

2. The other 99% have a different experience

Counter my experience with the typical hospital experience in Africa and you’ll find that:

  • A doctor usually juggles 48 patients in a day

  • Crammed spaces, usually not enough hospital beds for admissions

  • Friends and family can only visit during strict hours if they can visit at all

  • Patients pay out of pocket to get treated (usually before they get admitted).

That last point is the roughest.

97 million Africans (or 8.2% of the continent’s population), pay ‘catastrophic healthcare costs’ themselves.

Here, a health crisis here can turn into a financial crisis very quickly.

And it gets worse.

  • Africa has 2% of the global supply of doctors

  • And less than 1% of expenditures on global health.

  • But experiences 24% of the global burden of disease.

We’ve talked about this before → government spending on health infrastructure is nowhere near enough to deal with this health (and growing population burden).

If you’re lucky enough to afford it, to get good care you sometimes need to go on a trip.

3. The (private) healthcare race

Back to where I got admitted.

Aga Khan University Hospital - came recommended number one in Kenya and East Africa.

And a handful of my hospital-mates had come from across the continent to get treatment.

Turns out, travelling cross country for medical treatment is its own form of tourism: Medical Tourism.

And while Aga Khan is the top dog in East Africa, other countries have ambitions keep their citizens home when they have a health crisis.

Ethiopia is one country trying to become its own African medical tourism hub, and the new US backed Roha Medical Campus is a $400 million step in that direction.

And it makes sense.

To Semafor, Ethiopians spend an estimated $500 million on medical tourism each year (although I think this is a low-ball)

Private hospitals building better medical hubs will make healthcare more accessible (for those in the top 1%).

But we’re still not there yet.

So, those who can afford it need to get out of the continent to manage their health crisis.

4. A Taj Mahal trip with that surgery?

A doctors explained that some patients get a diagnosis here then leave Africa to get treated.

If the treatment I’m getting at Aga Khan doesn’t work, I’ll go back to Australia to get treated.

And while the US, UK or Australia might be on your list for the best care - they’re actually not the most popular.

Africa (and the rest of the world) is flocking to India, Thailand, Turkey and Taiwan to get their health care.

And it makes sense.

A kidney transplant in India costs about $13,000.

The same procedure will cost up to $300,000 in the US.

In 2017 we went through this decision matrix too

My grandma had a heart failure and needed a valve replacement immediately - or she would die.

But she was in Ethiopia and no hospital in Addis Ababa could perform the surgery.

We had to decide where she would get treatment - and quickly.

  • 🇰🇪 Nairobi, Kenya? A two hour flight, but not the best facilities for a valve replacement.

  • 🇺🇸 The United States? Great facilities but far too expensive, and needed a visa to enter.

  • 🇹🇭 Bangkok, Thailand? A 9 hour flight, but a great medical hospital, quick visa approval and a lot more affordable.

Two days later, she was in at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok for treatment.

A night here at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand will set you back just $528 USD a night. Hotel room or hospital bed 🤔

And this story is one of hundreds of thousands across Africa.

According to Semafor, Africans spend more than $5 billion annually just traveling outside the continent for healthcare.

5. Prevention is the best cure

My resolution getting out of here is to put health and wellness as my number one priority.

I know. It’s corny and it’s cliche.

But it’s real.

The best cure is avoiding a health crisis altogether. Its prevention.

Saksham Bhandari - Chief of Staff at Africa Healthcare Network - explains that this falls down at the primary care level.

This means doctors regularly checking on patients before a health crisis - so they can catch and identify diseases earlier.

One unlikely place that’s gotten this right is an island in the Caribbean.

Cuba.

Cuba trains many doctors, and they make primary care free for citizens.

Doctors are there first and foremost to prevent diseases.

And citizens can’t dodge it.

In this BBC article, a doctor jokes ‘My nurse knows where they live - they can run, but they can't hide!’

And by investing into more doctors for prevention (eight doctor to every 1000 citizens), they spend $431 per citizen a year (compared to $13,493 in the US).

And they live on with a lower infant mortality rate than the US and a similar life expectancy.

Cuba is a small country of 11 million.

But it’s a case study preventing health crises (not just managing them).

The Discharge 🏥 

Health crises are terrible.

And Africa is the worst continent to have one in.

Because if you do, it can quickly turn into a financial crisis.

After two weeks of being jabbed on a hospital bed, I can confirm that you leave with new perspectives.

And speaking of perspectives, I have a few questions for you:

  • Have you had any of these experiences yourself?

  • What do you think can and should be done about preventing and managing health crises in Africa?

  • Which of these takes did you find most interesting or resonate with? Why?

Shoot me an email back or let me know on LinkedIn here.

Hit me back with an answer to one or more - like I said I’m banned from ‘work’ so I’d love to hear from you.

PS - I’m recovering well and should be back in shape soon!

Thanks to everyone who has paid a visit, checked in, supported in the last few weeks ✌🏾

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