Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Nairobi, Kenya – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government of Mandera County, Kenya, today opened a new Community Life Center (CLC) in Mandera county. Helping to establish this new primary care and community hub is part of Philips’ ongoing commitment to improve access to quality primary healthcare and decrease maternal and infant mortality rates – a huge challenge across Sub-Saharan Africa. The CLC is a scalable, self-sufficient concept for primary healthcare delivery that Philips is pioneering in Africa, which it aims to introduce across the continent.

One of the world’s highest maternal mortality ratios
In Sub-Saharan Africa, four in ten people have no access to health facilities or health personnel, and for those that do, the quality of services is often low [1]. The need for primary healthcare in Mandera County is unparalleled; the region is hard to reach, not secure, and is a dry part of North-Eastern Kenya with one of the world’s highest maternal mortality ratios, amounting to 3,795 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births [2]. At the same time, it is a border region that struggles with a growing number of refugees fleeing the Somalian civil war and in need of care. Other challenges include a lack of qualified healthcare workers, non-operability of available medical equipment, a lack of electricity, water and basic healthcare technology, plus a lack of sustainability and reliable data on the population’s health.
New Philips Community Life Center in Mandera County Kenya

The newly inaugurated CLC is an important milestone for partners under the Private Sector Heath Partnership Kenya and will provide the community with modern, high quality, integrated health services for mother and child care, together with general health services and facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases. The technologies available in the CLC have been developed in Philips’ Africa Innovation Hub to ensure they address local needs and can function under the challenging local circumstances. By using robust low-resource medical solutions, such as automated breathing monitors to detect pneumonia (ChaRM), wind-up fetal heart rate monitors and portable tablet-based ultrasound scanners, Philips is ensuring high-quality care delivery even in the absence of electricity supplies or even batteries. At the same time, the CLC will offer the community a clean energy supply, employment opportunities, and going forward, the potential to develop commercial activities. It will also act as a secure social activity hub within reach of around 40,000 people.

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