Many countries are facing doctor shortages, especially for primary care doctors. The shortages are particularly acute in Asia and Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that to provide a sufficient number of healthcare workers in sub-Saharan African countries, the workforce would need to be scaled by as much as 140 percent. African patients account for 24 percent of those suffering from diseases worldwide, but they are served by only 2 percent of the world's physicians, and they spend only 1 percent of the world's healthcare expenditures.
Statistics for Southeast Asia are similar. Patients in the region have 29 percent of the world's diseases and 11 percent of the world's physicians. The region accounts for only 1 percent of global healthcare expenditures.
To address physician shortages in these areas, a website called Medifund has started a program that is essentially a Kickstarter to help aspiring doctors pay for medical school. Medifund was developed by Jossy Onwude, who is a student at the Southwestern University Mham College of Medicine. The university is located in Cebu City in the Philippines.
Onwude launched the site at Startup Weekend Cebu. In its initial program, the site has raised tuition money for second-year medical student Kristine Bless. Bless raised about PHP 25,000 ($577). Medifund keeps 5 percent of contributions to cover its operational expenses.
So far, 30 students have signed up to beta test the program. Onwude is in talks with medical schools, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and scholarship programs that may partner with Medifund in the future. Onwude hopes to add a peer-to-peer loan program as well as a system in which students can accumulate points by performing certain tasks, like medical consultations.
Onwude's goal is to increase the number of practicing doctors in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. He also wants to increase the number of women that are practicing medicine, particularly in his native Nigeria.
"There is a huge shortage of doctors in Asia and Africa," Onwude told TechCrunch. "In the Philippines, for example, one doctor might have to work in several hospitals."
Edited by
Alisen Downey
