AXA: partners the European Space Agency to facilitate access to health around the world

We met Nick Appleyard, Downstream Business Applications Manager of ASE, and Hassan El Shabrawishi, CEO of AXA One Health, to learn more about this new partnership.

How did this partnership between AXA and ESA come about?

Hassan El Shabrawishi We met ESA at the Internet of Things Tech Expo in Amsterdam in June 2019, where our two organizations quickly became interested in forming a partnership in areas where we share the same goals.

Nick Appleyard : We quickly realized that our two organizations had many symmetries. We have therefore drawn up a memorandum to formally recognize this common interest and we have agreed to adopt measures to develop this synergy. The health care issue in Africa is a good example of how the activities of ESA and AXA overlap.

What will be the main benefits for users?

Hassan El Shabrawishi : AXA is now a key player in Africa's healthcare sector and we have found that there is a considerable gap between the services our customers would like us to provide and what we are able to offer today . To bridge this gap, AXA wants to become a primary care provider and aims to create a network of clinics across the continent. For this, two approaches are possible: build physical structures, or opt for solutions such as teleconsultation, allowing immediate access to quality care. One of the major issues in Africa today is the lack of infrastructure needed for digital technologies. We are therefore seeking to mobilize ESA satellite technology to provide Internet coverage in remote areas, as well as a backup solution for urban areas to ensure the sustainability of our services. Our goal is to use digital technologies and services that do not yet exist in Western markets, such as home-based drug distribution, teleconsultation or the concept of a health coach. We also aim to provide educational programs for our staff and leverage the power of data to inform the public and encourage them to better manage their own health care. ESA offers us technologies that can mobilize much more reliable and affordable health care at costs that would have been unimaginable only 10 or 20 years ago. The advantage for millions of African customers is threefold: accessibility, lower cost and quality.

Which are the first countries concerned?

Hassan El Shabrawishi : We started this project by studying health expenses paid directly by patients with their own funds. In Africa, these can reach 90% of total health expenditure. Nigeria and Egypt have established themselves for the launch of this program, as these two countries alone cover about 400 million people. We have brought together an AXA One Health team at the pan-African level, but we can go beyond Africa because what we are doing here is also relevant for Asia, Latin America and some southern countries of the world. Europe.

Nick Appleyard : The partnership will start in Egypt, but with our satellites spread all over the world, all the services developed for a given market can be developed in any other place. Whenever the partnership allows us to access a new market, we will be present alongside AXA.

Are you planning to work on other joint projects in the future?

Nick Appleyard : I hope so ! The insurance sector is for us a natural partner. Our business touches areas such as infrastructure monitoring and all forms of mobility and transport – markets in which AXA is also present. So there are many areas of synergy with an organization like AXA.

Hassan El Shabrawishi : We have so many interests in common that the answer is almost certainly yes. The declaration of intent between AXA and ESA has been signed, which is our first step. This memorandum is deliberately very general because the projects and technologies that ESA is ready to share with us are very numerous.

AXA and health in emerging countries

The creation of partnerships with public and private actors is at the heart of AXA's strategy. The Group is committed to working closely with multilateral organizations on key themes, including health. The AXA One Health initiative is based on the principle pay-to-partnerbut needs the support of an ecosystem of private, public and multilateral organizations to achieve its goal of making health care more accessible to millions of people.

Benoit Claveranne, International Managing Director and New Markets, highlighted : " Health systems in emerging markets are at a crossroads. As insurers, we have a role to play in expanding access to care and filling gaps where necessary. We must adapt to these changes and propose health solutions that meet local needs. "