Field, a healthtech startup based in Nigeria, has raised $11 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to confront one of Africa’s most pressing healthcare challenges: maternal and child mortality. With this funding, Field aims to deploy its route-to-market service to facilitate access to critical therapies across Nigeria and Kenya, focusing on maternal health, child nutrition, and newborn survival.
Scaling Access to Life-Saving Therapies
Field’s route-to-market platform, powered by digital technology, is designed to ensure that life-saving medical interventions reach underserved communities. By leveraging a network of over 40,000 healthcare providers in both rural and urban areas, the company aims to improve access to treatments that are often unavailable in low-resource settings.
The startup’s CEO, Michael Moreland, emphasised the transformative potential of digital health infrastructure, stating, “Our goal is to use technology to disrupt traditional healthcare models and create more equitable systems where everyone, regardless of location, has access to high-quality medical care.”
Targeting Africa’s Maternal Mortality Crisis
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to experience some of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. According to recent reports, the lifetime risk of maternal death for women in the region is 1 in 41, far higher than in developed regions. This alarming disparity highlights the urgent need for interventions like Field’s.
Field’s service is set to introduce cutting-edge solutions for maternal care, including heat-stable carbetocin, which addresses postpartum haemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal death in the region. The company will also accelerate access to other vital therapies and tools to combat conditions like preeclampsia, ensuring that more women and infants survive childbirth.
Beyond introducing new therapies, Field’s approach includes strengthening healthcare infrastructure. The company’s platform is designed to overcome common barriers to healthcare in Africa, such as inadequate medical supply chains and lack of financing. Field’s distribution arm, Shelf Life, already supports over 3,000 medical products, delivering them to a range of public and private health facilities.
“By addressing gaps in healthcare supply and providing financing options, we’re enabling providers to offer life-saving treatments without being constrained by working capital shortages,” Moreland added.
Addressing Economic Barriers to Healthcare
While maternal mortality has been on the global agenda for years, economic instability in many African countries has slowed progress. Many healthcare facilities face challenges in accessing modern medical treatments due to inadequate funding, poor supply chains, and the high cost of new interventions.
Field’s integrated model seeks to overcome these challenges by not only providing access to innovative therapies but also offering financial tools that allow healthcare providers to invest in these products.
With this new funding, Field is poised to expand its operations and address some of Africa’s most urgent healthcare needs. By bringing scalable healthcare solutions to underserved areas, the company aims to reduce preventable deaths and improve maternal and newborn health outcomes across the continent.
Leave feedback about this