Tell us about your company’s products and solutions.

Siemens Healthineers is a leading medical technology company headquartered in Erlangen, Germany. As a global leader, we are continuously developing our product and service portfolio to address the most pressing challenges in healthcare today.Together with innovative solutions in AI-supported applications and digital offerings that are shaping the next generation of medical technology, Siemens Healthineers’ purpose is focused on expanding access to care for everyone, everywhere. It is our ambition to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for the 50 per cent of the world’s population that currently do not have access to essential health services.

The 2022 edition of Medic West Africa sees a return to the traditional in-person format. What are you looking forward to the most from in-person interactions at this year’s show?

First and foremost, we are delighted to be back on the show floor at Medic West Africa 2022 and we very much look forward to welcoming visitors and our valued customers again to our booth.

During the pandemic, we have been working hard to sustain a comprehensive virtual environment with online webinars and digital exhibitions to keep in touch and engage with our customers. But physical meetings and personal interaction cannot be replaced 100 per cent.

We look forward to meeting everybody again at the show and having a fruitful exchange with experts from the healthcare industry. Based on the events of the last two years, we will surely be able to learn from each other, and even more so, to discuss what is coming next and how to better prepare for similar situations in future.

What are you showcasing at Medic West Africa this year?

In line with our company’s ambition to improve access to care, we will be showcasing a range of products and solutions that we have developed specifically for the African market.

Our central showcase is the new MRI scanner, the Magnetom Free.Star that delivers a drastic reduction in cost and operational complexity, making it a favourable choice. Also on exhibit is a range of medical imaging and laboratory products and solutions.

Medic West Africa has an increasing focus on sustainability. How does your company contribute toward a more sustainable future?

At Siemens Healthineers, we act both responsibly and innovatively – in other words, sustainably. Sustainability has always been a guiding principle for us. For more than a century we have been working to improve healthcare products, services, and solutions for the benefit of patients, medical professionals and society.

As a company, we are committed to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) that help us create a better future for our planet and for humankind. Our efforts are therefore focused on improving access to care and on environmental and social issues.

We believe that partnerships will accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. Accordingly, we are involved in numerous scientific and technological partnerships with clinical and academic institutions and partnerships with customers.

Please shed light on your upcoming plans.

We believe that access to care should be in the centre of attention in our endeavours to shape the future of healthcare. Our purpose — ‘We pioneer breakthroughs in healthcare. For everyone. Everywhere.’ — forms the basis for it.

Understanding the local preconditions of the African continent, we are intensifying our efforts to increase our impact in underserved communities by making healthcare more accessible, affordable, and available.

Our strategy for emerging markets is dedicated to developing solutions and services that address the specific needs of these markets, and we are proud to present some of these at the Medic West Africa.

Furthermore, we are deploying various methods to resolve the lack of access to care, including collaborations with stakeholders, financing solutions, new business models, innovation across the health continuum, and digital solutions.

Anything else you would like to add?

Presently, about three billion people worldwide do not have access to basic healthcare facilities. These underserved communities largely reside in low- and middle-income countries. As a company, we see ourselves in the position to improve these statistics. We are therefore working tirelessly, in a bid to forge a world where people can receive essential health services, and gain access to the right treatment in the right setting at the right time. To realise our ambition, we are constantly bringing breakthrough innovations to the market to fight the most threatening diseases.

Moreover, to expand the outreach and build sustainable local expertise, we are committed to enhancing the provision and delivery of training and education across Africa. We identify this to be an essential component in paving the way for upcoming generations of healthcare workers to shape a better future in healthcare.