Field, a leading African healthtech company, has unveiled a new service aimed at addressing the critical issue of maternal mortality in Africa. With $11 million in initial funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the service will fast-track the delivery of emerging therapies and health technologies to improve maternal, newborn, and child health, as well as nutrition.
Field’s new route-to-market platform will leverage its existing network of over 40,000 healthcare providers across Kenya and Nigeria, utilizing proprietary technology, distribution, and financing services. By streamlining access to innovative treatments, the initiative seeks to combat Africa’s most urgent health challenges, beginning with maternal mortality.
Since its founding in 2015, Field has supported over 800 million health interventions across more than 60 therapeutic areas, including family planning, HIV, and tuberculosis. Now, the company will focus on accelerating access to new therapies, digitizing healthcare services, and enhancing supply chain efficiency. Private healthcare providers, hospitals, and government healthcare bodies will benefit from last-mile delivery services and pharma-grade refrigeration to improve daily operations.
One of the initiative's core goals is to reduce maternal mortality rates, which are 45 times higher in Africa compared to Europe. In 2020, Africa accounted for 69% of global maternal deaths, with Nigeria alone representing nearly 30% of these cases. Field will introduce therapies like heat-stable carbetocin and calibrated drapes, which are designed to detect and treat postpartum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal death.
In collaboration with governments, manufacturers, and key stakeholders, Field's new platform is set to be one of the continent’s most ambitious maternal health programs, providing life-saving care to expectant mothers and enhancing healthcare services across the region.
The consequences of poor or non-existent maternal health services will affect the most vulnerable sections of Africa’s population. Speaking on the initiative, Michael Moreland, CEO & Founder of Field, says, “This is public health powered by technology and today’s news recognises the products and services that Field has built over the past eight years scaled and integrated into large-scale public health programs; this is what we believe health technology companies should be doing; joining innovative, impactful coalitions between private and public entities”.
“Digitally powering, networking, and financing health systems at scale will have an overwhelmingly positive effect on access to quality care. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation we are set to rapidly improve mother and child survival in every setting .’’
A number of global pharma and health companies have exited the continent in the past 18 months. Moreland adds, “We’ve seen genuine, meaningful gains being made in healthcare delivery outcomes, however in this current tough economic climate, without coordinated systems and processes, the progress will slow or slip. Alongside our funders, our role is to ensure this doesn’t happen because the problems the healthcare space is facing will not be solved on its own. This is where Field, and its funders, come in and we’re excited to get to work on this technology-powered infrastructure blueprint for public health services”.
In addition to this new initiative, Field continues to grow and scale its technology solutions across the continent. In Field Supply, it has created the largest pharmaceutical supply chain platform in Africa. Its distribution service Shelf Life distributes over 3,000 quality products across more than 50 therapeutic areas, reaching over 2,500 pharmacies and hospitals in 24 cities in Nigeria and Kenya, including government facilities, large hospital systems, retail chains, insurance companies and family-operated drug stores. The platform also provides trade financing solutions for priority therapies and equipment that addresses working capital constraints that often hinder investment in new medical interventions.
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