In Good Health

Transportation of blood is fundamental to the successful running of any health service.

From ensuring hospitals have adequate supplies to testing and distributing to patients, specialist organisations exist all over the world to provide vital blood-related support to healthcare setups.

The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is one such example. Established more than 80 years ago, the not-for-profit provides the delivery of safe blood to all South Africans and is led by CEO Jonathan Louw.

“Being a clinician trained in anaesthetics, I have always had a good understanding of transfusion medicine, as well as a number of friends and colleagues who are transfusion specialists themselves,” he reveals. “Even before starting here, they would say to me that the good thing about SANBS is the fact that it ensures that blood is safe. But the problem is there’s not enough.

“I came in with that understanding, and we have set about trying to address that problem ever since.”

Louw’s interview forms this month’s cover story, one of three features dedicated to African healthcare, the other two comprising insight from ILEX South Africa and MedHealth.

Before this you will find an extensive conversation with Pearl Uzokwe, Director of Governance and Sustainability at Sahara Group. A UK-educated and trained lawyer, she moved back to her beloved Nigeria a decade ago and is now in charge of strategising all things sustainable at the multinational energy firm.

Among the other industries explored this issue include mining, manufacturing, retail and construction, along with a look at the first private pan-African education network in the form of Honoris United Universities. In the technology sphere, Microsoft’s Ibrahim Youssry explains how the financial services industry is ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting pioneering solutions.

This will also be the final edition of Africa Outlook which houses our travel guides. Owing to the popularity of these features, Outlook Publishing is proudly launching a new standalone title, Outlook Travel, in December.

For now, however, be sure to check out what Tanzania, the South African province of Mpumalanga and Botswana have to offer in this edition.

Enjoy the issue!