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Accelerate AI Solutions for Healthcare

With partners, we can tackle challenges in healthcare on the ground.

Blacklin Associates works with companies, governments, and development institutions to apply AI and digital tools to healthcare needs across Africa.

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Technology that makes healthcare safer and more accessible

Supply chain traceability
Digital tools that make medicine supply chains visible so distributors, pharmacies, and manufacturers can trust what moves through them.

Last-mile access
Platforms and agent networks that bring healthcare products to pharmacies, clinics, and customers in rural and underserved communities.

Partnership and convening
Public-private alliances that bring technology companies, governments, and local businesses together around shared healthcare priorities.

Projects

Delivered under the U.S. Digital Transformation with Africa (DTA) initiative by the Africa Tech for Trade Alliance, which Blacklin team members led.

South Africa. Pilot announced November 2024

Pulse by NABP: pharmaceutical tracing in South Africa

Read the IBM announcement

pulse-pharma-tracing

Africa's drug supply chains are fragmented, with weak infrastructure and differing regulations across countries, which limits supply and raises prices for patients. Pulse connects pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Roche with African distributors and pharmacies, and adds security to the supply chain by improving the ability to identify and trace medications.

 

Partners

National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), IBM Consulting, Prosper Africa, USAID's e-Trade Alliance

Technology

NABP's Pulse platform, designed in partnership with IBM Consulting, analyzes product scan data from pharmacies and retailers and leverages AI to help them make data-driven decisions

Market

Africa's pharmaceutical market was estimated at $26.85 billion in 2023

Kenya. Project Launchpad, started September 2023

Kasha last-mile digital distribution for health products

Read the project summary

kasha-last-mile-distribution

Kasha's digital platform supplies pharmaceuticals, women's healthcare products, and everyday consumer goods to retail pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, and directly to customers. With support from the Africa Tech for Trade Alliance, Kasha expanded its agent network to reach more retailers and rural consumers, offered stock financing and training to business buyers, and launched a subscription platform for repeat purchases and medication adherence.

 

Project objectives

150

agents employed, more than half women

20

pharmacies trained in rural and underserved communities

15,000+

new customers reached

digital-subscription-icon

new digital subscription platform for repeat purchases and medication adherence

Tracing and containing the spread of infectious disease

When an outbreak moves fast, the gap between the first case and a coordinated response is measured in days. We help governments and partners close that gap with tracking tools that connect the clinic to the national health infrastructure.

Talk to us about strengthening outbreak response in your health system

Sophisticated tracking mechanisms

  • Early-warning analytics. AI models that flag unusual patterns in clinic reports and pharmacy sales before cases are confirmed.
  • Digital case reporting and contact tracing. Mobile tools that let frontline workers log cases and trace contacts in real time, including where connectivity is limited.
  • Laboratory and genomic linkage. Test results and sequencing data tied to case records, so health officials can see how a pathogen is spreading.
  • Supply and treatment tracking. Vaccines, diagnostics, and medicines followed through the supply chain, so stock reaches affected areas.

Coordination across national healthcare infrastructure

  • Shared data standards. Facility, district, and national systems exchange information without re-entry.
  • Clear roles and workflows. Clinics, laboratories, public health agencies, and ministries work from the same picture of the outbreak.
  • Cross-border information sharing. Neighboring countries and regional bodies see the signals that matter to them.
  • Privacy and security by design. Safeguards built in for sensitive health data.

How we collaborate

A clear path from local need to lasting impact, built around the partners, resources, and investment each project requires.

1

Assess needs

We start on the ground, mapping local health needs, existing systems, data readiness, and the policy environment, so solutions fit the context they serve.

2

Convene stakeholders

We bring technology providers, local and national government, investors, and health providers together around a shared goal.

3

Define strategy and approach

Partners agree on priorities, the right AI use cases, roles and governance, financing, and how success will be measured.

4

Implement

We support pilots and rollout, from deployment and training to coordination across partners and funders, so projects stay on track.

5

Measure and scale

We track results, share lessons, and help partners expand what works, with safeguards for data privacy and responsible AI.

Partner with Blacklin on healthcare solutions

We welcome conversations with governments, funders, development organizations, and private-sector partners who want to make healthcare safer and more accessible across Africa.