|
Dear Friends,
Sub-Sahara Africa has about
11 percent of the world’s population but it carries 24 percent
of the global disease burden. If we add up the global amount
of money spent on healthcare only one percent is spent in
Africa. Almost half the world’s infant mortality rate under
the age of five is in Africa and the biggest killer is malaria.
These are the massive challenges
that we at Shalina are faced with and are committed to do
something about.
I have spent most of my
life in Africa and it is my home. I am always humbled by the
generosity and kindness of its people. And I feel a great
injustice when I see children dying in their parent’s arms
in a continent which has been blessed with so much abundant
natural wealth. That is why I have made it my mission to provide
world-class quality healthcare at a price affordable to everyone
in the continent.
It is a great testament
to the dedication of our people in our organisation that has
helped us reach where we are today. I personally wish to thank
each person for their dedication and hard work and urge them
to continue striving further to take our company to new heights.
We at Shalina are an ambitious
company deeply involved in the communities and the societies
where we operate. Our aim is to build a globally competitive,
professional and diversified healthcare organisation focussed
specifically of delivering sustainable solutions to a continent
that had long-been forgotten about by the large multi-national
companies. In Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
we recently opened our first no-profit/no-loss eye clinic
to treat needless blindness in partnership with Arvind Eye
Institute from India and Right to Sight from the UK. The project
has been a great success and is a vivid example of the power
of public private partnerships. We plan to roll out this success
into other regions we operate over the coming years.
Looking
Ahead
I am optimistic about
the opportunities that lie ahead of us. Africa is in a stage
of transformation. Many countries have engaged with strong
strategic partners like China and India to forge mutually
beneficial long-term relationships. China and India are promising
to develop the much needed infrastructure be it roads, schools,
hospitals, airports, seaports, power plants etc and in return
Africa is offering their partners access to its well-endowed
natural resources. These long-term strategic initiatives
will serve to increase the quality of life and the wealth
of Africa allowing its people to have more purchasing power
for life’s essential needs.
More than a decade after
embarking on our mission we are still just scratching the
tip of the ice-break. We have our operations on the ground
in Angola, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Ghana and Nigeria. Our operations reach a combined
population of more than 200 million people whereas the population
of the continent is more than 800m people. And we are in
only 5 countries whereas the continent has more than 50 countries.
This shows the tremendous scope for growth and the amount
of work we still have ahead of us.
Soon we will open a ‘Medical
Mega Store’ in Dubai to service customers from Africa
that come to Dubai for their buying. The historic ties
between Africa and the Middle East run deep and have been
established over a long period of time. The Gulf, and in
particular Dubai, has emerged as a major trading partner
to Africa and we have ambitious plans to leverage the unique
relationship that the two regions share with each other
As we continue to develop
ourselves as individuals and as a company, we will stay true
to our mission of delivering Africa with quality healthcare
at affordable prices. |
