Alex’s Unjani Clinic benefits from Pfizer funding
ALEXANDRA – Pfizer funding will also benefit the Unjani Clinics in Alexandra, one of which has already been opened at Alex Plaza.
Pfizer South Africa has joined forces with Unjani Clinics to unleash its financial muscle to bolster the work of the network of clinics across the country.
This is the company’s endeavour to provide a measure of private healthcare to the poor communities of South Africa at a fraction of the cost.
One of those beneficiaries of this ‘marriage’ between Pfizer and Unjani Clinics will be the recently opened Unjani Clinic at Alex Plaza, with a second clinic soon to be opened in this iconic township.
Rhulani Nhlaniki, country manager at Pfizer South Africa, said the desire to improve the healthcare system in South Africa, particularly for the poor and vulnerable, was the driving force that led Pfizer to join forces with Unjani Clinics that provided quality, affordable and accessible primary healthcare to underserved communities.
Nhlaniki added this would be done via a three-pronged approach, one of which sought to empower black female professional nurses through the 75 Unjani Clinics that are founded on a nurse-owned and operated primary healthcare model.
Every time a new clinic is opened, a black female professional nurse is empowered to own her very own primary health clinic, employ two staff members and provide a much-needed alternative health delivery service to the communities they operate in, said Lynda Toussaint, CEO of the network of Unjani Clinics.
The second objective is to create much-needed permanent jobs in the poor communities where joblessness and poverty are the order of the day.
The last objective of the network of clinics is to provide access to quality primary healthcare to the poorest of the poor. South Africa has a population of 59 million people, of which only about 10 million people have private medical insurance.
The balance of the population either pays out of pocket or relies on the public healthcare system for their healthcare needs, which are under significant pressure and often struggle to provide the quality and convenient primary care services that many patients require.
Unjani Clinics’ service reduces the burden on the public health system while enabling patients to receive quality, accessible and affordable private healthcare when they need it, Toussaint added.
Toussaint said the network was reliant on donor funding such as that from Pfizer to operate and expand. “The main costs associated with the projects include infrastructure, clinic equipment and initial working capital, and these partnerships greatly assist us to continue to empower more nurses and serve more communities.
“Our support for Unjani Clinics is based on our core value of equity where we express our commitment to reducing healthcare disparities as well as our belief that every person deserves to be seen, heard and cared for,” Nhlaniki concluded.
