Senegal: JokkoSanté app helps resale and sharing of unused medicine

Adama Kane is a Senegalese software engineer who has created an application that helps in controlling and managing drugs boxes in family pharmacies.

The application know as JokkoSanté or the virtual community pharmacy allows for more affordable access to medicines thanks to 3 complementary mechanisms: circular economy, cross-financing and online point trading.

The App’s goal according to it’s builder is to stop drug wastage and counterfeiting.

80% of Senegal’s working population does not have medical insurance cover and the packages offered by insurance companies don’t include medicines.

However, statistics have shown that unused medicines accumulate in family medicine boxes until their expiry. At times, these drugs are offered without any regulation.

For Adama Kane, JokkoSanté responds to a secure web and mobile computing system that allows all transactions to be carried out safely in accordance with the protocols and procedures in force.

Adama Kane says: “Instead of having a pharmacy box everywhere, try to create a pharmacy box that belongs to everyone. Because if you have medicines that cannot be used during your illness and these drugs are reusable, instead of storing them unnecessarily at home, you can take them to a health center and have for instance, if you bring back a value of 5,000 FCFA, you earn 5,000 points and later if you have a new prescription, instead of paying with money, you will pay this prescription with your points.”

JokkoSanté gives everyone the opportunity to deposit unused medicines in public health centers that are members of the network and thus earn a certain number of points, depending on their value. 1 Point equals 1 CFA franc.

A recent study by JookoSanté shows that 52% to 73% of health care spending is spent on drugs.

Aissatou Mbaye is a mother of a Senegalese family: “I thank God and also the designer of this application that helps us enormously. It saves us a lot of trouble because drug prices are affordable. Nowadays, these are medicines that are converted into points and used for other prescriptions and we are very grateful for them.”

Launched in February 2015, Jokkosanté now has nearly 2,000 users. The application is available on smartphones and SMS version for people who do not have internet access on mobile.

Its designer has already received over $ 150,000 in funding through the African Entrepreneurship Award 2015 by BMCE Bank.

Adama Kane is seeking to raise 150,000 additional euros in order to launch in thirty sites throughout Senegal and even abroad.

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