aYo Zambia CEO, Andrew Nkolola

microinsurer aYo Zambia has has just launched Family Cover, which allows Zambians to get hospital and life cover for themselves as well as their direct and extended families without filling in a single form. The new product will also see all premiums collected (and claims paid) via the MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) platform. Until now, aYo has offered hospital and life cover to individuals only through two insurance products, ‘Send with Care’ and ‘Recharge with Care’. But a growing market demand for insurance for the whole family prompted the company to create the new Family Cover product, which allows policy holders to add up to seven people, including themselves.

“As of today, we have had over 3.5 million customers purchase cover to protect themselves for hospitalisation in the event of illness or injury, or loss of life,” said aYo Zambia CEO Andrew Nkolola. “But many of our customers have been asking us: ‘How will we safeguard our children and families if something happens to them? We don’t want benefits only when something happens to us.’ We realised it was a huge gap in the market and have responded accordingly.”

As with aYo’s existing products, Family Cover customers must maintain active Mobile Money (MoMo) accounts to pay premiums and claim. This will allow them to insure up to three other family members per benefit, for a total of seven people. Family Cover allows policyholders to add extended family as well as direct relatives between the ages of 1 and 69.

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Customers can enrol family members by dialling the USSD code *296* and selecting the Family cover option to enrol and manage cover. As with ‘Send with Care’ and ‘Recharge with Care’, valid Family Cover claims are paid directly to the claimant’s mobile money wallet without any hassles.

aYo was recognised as the Most Innovative Ecommerce Product in Zambia by the Institute of Finance and Economics in October, and followed that up in November with three awards at the Pensions and Insurance Authority Industry awards: Microinsurance product of the year, Best Customer Centric Experience, and Product and Service Innovation of the Year.

“The market perception of insurance in general is changing. Today, every Zambian consumer can purchase insurance on the go, using their mobile phones. Offerings like Family Cover provide a much-needed social safety net that helps vulnerable people and particularly people with low incomes to stay afloat when the unexpected happens,” said Nkolola.

Chantel Cooper, CEO of The Children’s Hospital Trust (Image: Supplied)

Chantel joined the Children’s Hospital Trust in 2013 as the Head of Fundraising and Communication and was appointed as CEO in 2019. For her, 2020 was a year that reinforced the importance of the core purpose of the Trust and the difference the organisation wants to make in the lives of children. “Our cause is driven by the need to make a difference in the lives of sick and injured children. We are people who work together to save the lives of the children who matter. We all have a purpose!” she says.

Sharing excerpts from her journey, Chantel says:

“My purpose in life is to serve those who are most vulnerable: women and children. My career was driven by my passion to make a real difference in the lives of women and children. When I was 18 years old, I volunteered for an organisation that provided support for women who had been raped. While volunteering, I started working with women in rural areas in the Eastern Cape where we found opportunities to grow their businesses.

“My passion for women led me to Cape Town where I became Director of Rape Crisis Cape Town when I was 27 years old. After the birth of my two children, I moved to an organisation called St Joseph’s Home for chronically Ill Children. St Joseph’s is a step-down facility for tertiary hospitals like the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. It was a profound move for me as I was able to work with children who inspired me.

“One of the most valuable lessons I learnt is the power of love. You can offer a child the best healthcare in the world, but what a child wants most is their parents to love them and be by their side. This is the value I most appreciate about the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and my past experiences. This hospital believes in child-centered care and knows that a child heals when their parent or caregiver is by their side – even during the COVID-19 pandemic. All other hospitals had restricted access to patients, but the presence of a parent is imperative to their sick or injured child’s healing.”

Overcoming Adversities

“The COVID-19 pandemic taught our team that life can change in a blink of an eye and that we need to be prepared for all possibilities. The pandemic hit the world with such speed and velocity that we had no choice but to find a way to not only sail through the storm but also find ways to get out of the situation stronger than before.”

Chantel also states that 2020 provided the Children’s Hospital Trust with the opportunity to learn extraordinary lessons that they would not have normally had the opportunity to learn and some of these include:

• The value of deep listening and the importance of demonstrating kindness.
• Working in collaboration created the opportunity for meaningful impact for our beneficiaries.
• Opportunities do exist during challenging times; positivity exposed the opportunities.
• Adapting to change during uncertain times helped to build a resilient team.

“Our Trust team demonstrated ingenuity, compassion, resilience, commitment, and fortitude during a very difficult time. As a result, we surpassed our goals, and this enabled our organisation to reach more children and families. We are grateful for the contribution from every individual,” adds Chantel.

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“Walking through the corridors of a children’s hospital during a crisis gave perspective on the real value of care, kindness, and collaboration. While children were not the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Social Work Department experienced first-hand the profound impact the pandemic had on children’s health and well-being.

“Unemployment, food insecurity, child safety and schooling were common concerns for many patients and their parents who entered the doors of the Hospital. The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital values patient and family-centred care which includes care for the whole family from a holistic perspective.

“In response to the needs of the families, the Trust secured funding to enable the social workers to provide additional counselling services and material support such as the provision of food, hygiene, and home-schooling supplies to vulnerable families when children were discharged from the Hospital.” Read more on the Family Care Project here.

Redefining Excellence

The core to achieving our vision is upholding our values of Integrity, Accountability, Kindness, Dynamism, and Collaboration in every aspect of our work. The Trust has a sound financial record in administration and good governance. For the past 28 years, we have raised funds to address many pressing needs, but much has yet to be done. With the help of many donors, we continue to give hope and healing to our little ones who need it most.

The Trust raises funds for the upgrade and expansion of the Hospital’s buildings, the purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment, and new medical treatment projects and funds the training of medical professionals across Africa – ensuring that the Hospital not only retains its world-class stature but is able to continue providing life-changing and life-saving care for children.

The Trust relies on donations to fund these needs. When you donate to the Trust, 100% of your donation goes towards funding projects that change children’s lives (and the lives of the people who love them). The operational costs of the Trust are funded from an endowment, so your generous contributions are never used to cover administration costs.

Donate to the Children’s Hospital Trust today! www.childrenshospitaltrust.org.za

SpecSMART, a world-class optometry clinic has opened its store in Lagos, the commercial hub of the country, promising to deliver high-quality optometry services comprising primary eye care, premium quality frames, lens variants, contact lens fitting, and optical/ophthalmic services to Nigerians, for patients seeking effective healthcare.

The clinic with the United Kingdom standard which debuted on Wednesday, 17th August, 2022 was unveiled at the Ikoyi Plaza Mall, Awolowo Road, in Ikoyi, Lagos, to cater to the over 50 million people requiring eye care that has become almost exclusive for the few in the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr. Clarence Nwokocha, Practice Head and Medical Director, SpecSMART, said quality eye care is one of the key areas of healthcare and that the gap in the services has prompted the launch of the first-class clinic which was launched to meet the demand while ensuring the overall well-being of the patient and expectations that are fully guaranteed.

Dr. Nwokocha pointed out that with the unveiling of SpecSMART, patients would be able to have access to over 1,000 premium frames, contact lens fitting with sales and after-sales service, as well as international and designer sunglasses of a high standard at affordable prices.

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He said SpecSMART will ensure on-the-spot glazing of spectacle prescriptions for standard lens prescriptions, fully automated quality eye examinations, full glaucoma care services, free registration for patients, world-class medical suite using automated digital equipment, and delivering a wide and comprehensive range of tests every day of the week, for flexibility of appointments.

The Medical Director stated that lots of Nigerians complain that they don’t get the type of customer service they need, the prescription of frames, type of eye care required, and we are here as a UK standard clinic to offer them the best treatment in line with global best practices.

“We are working towards opening another branch at the Lekki and Ikeja districts of Lagos State, to effectively provide our high standard services to Nigerians that desire quality eye care services. 

According to him, there will be 24 hours automated appointment scheduler via the clinic’s website platform, 12-hour online customer care service, and eye care plans according to customers’ budgets and preferences, from skilled, licensed optometrists that would guarantee top-notched optometric and optical services to achieve accurate diagnoses.

With the unveiling of SpecSMART, patients seeking eye care treatment outside the country and within would now have access to excellent services in line with global best practices, as the clinic would also be extended to other parts of the country to meet the dire needs of patients.

Against this backdrop, the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the 74th World Health Assembly in 2021 pointed out that more than 800 million people in the globe have eye defects that could be addressed with the appropriate pair of spectacles, while an estimated 100 million people have moderate-to-severe distance vision impairment or blindness that could be corrected through access to cataract surgery.

It posits that to ameliorate the situation, there is a need for the provision of quality eye care services for underserved populations.