Bayer Pharmaceuticals has partnered with Unjani Clinics, a network of black women-owned and operated primary healthcare clinics that provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare to communities in low-income areas.
Friday 9 April saw the official opening of the Unjani Clinic in the community of Tsakane in Ekurhuleni.
This clinic will enable healthcare access to more than 100 000 members of this community who would otherwise have had to spend much more of their resources and time to access the medical assistance.
“The innovation behind Unjani Clinics is based on shifting primary healthcare tasks to professional nurses and the ability to leverage off a highly developed and extensive private sector distribution network to ensure more people have access to medicines and healthcare,” says Lynda Toussaint, Chief Executive Officer at the Unjani Clinic Network, a non-profit company and registered public benefit organisation.
This innovative enterprise development initiative addresses the inequality which exists between private and public healthcare services in our country, particularly as there are too few public hospitals and clinics to deal with the increasing healthcare burden and private healthcare being too expensive for the bulk of the population. An aging population, a growing number of lifestyle-related diseases and rising costs are preventing access to healthcare for more and more people and leaving behind the world’s underserved communities, particularly the women and children living there.
Determined to play their part, Bayer have partnered with Unjani Clinics and provided a grant of R4.6 million to establish four clinics in order to promote access to affordable healthcare.
“As a leader in health and nutrition, our products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life, while endeavouring to create value through innovation, growth and corporate social engagements. Bayer is committed to making a positive contribution in society.
We believe it is our responsibility to share our expertise, our products, and our global networks to enable a world where hunger for none and health for all is a possibility,” says Klaus Eckstein, Chief Executive Officer of Bayer South Africa.
Inspired by Bayer’s vision of Health for All, Hunger for None, this partnership shows the commitment to transformation and collective contribution to sustainable communities and livelihoods.
“Through our businesses, we are addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our times by constantly developing new solutions. Bayer is proud to partner with such an innovative network, helping with a solution to bring quality, reliable and affordable healthcare directly to our communities.”
As a responsible corporate citizen, Bayer are committed to the principles of sustainable development as well as to social and ethical responsibilities in South Africa.
“We’re focused on one goal: supporting communities where Bayer customers and employees live and work, in areas where our business has the greatest impact and where our efforts can generate the greatest value,” Eckstein says.
“At Bayer, we believe that when communities thrive, economic prospects improve thus impacting quality of life. We have put in place strategies that aim at increasing positive social impact in our communities. At the heart of these strategies is promoting access to affordable healthcare – the single most important factor affecting people’s well-being”.
There are currently 85 Unjani Clinics around the country, 4 of which will be sponsored by Bayer.
The aim of this clinic network is to eventually have 1 000 clinics around the country and to continue to build a successful network of nurse-owned and operated clinics, empowering professional nurses and creating permanent employment.
