Nyawira Njeru - Regional Director, Hologic Africa

Meeting highlights:

• Nyawira's Mission when Appointed as Regional Director of Hologic Africa: Continue the entrepreneurial spirit of Hologic and expand of portfolio to impact more women, especially for STDs, breast cancer, and cervical cancer.  
• Hologic's Global Women's Health Index: Providing data to stakeholders and policymakers to attract investments and reform policies to improve the conditions for women's health worldwide.  
• Hologic's Global Access Initiative: Scalable HIV testing in Africa, continuous investment in this initiative and looking to add HPV Testing. 
• The Importance of Allocating Resources for Diagnostics: Nyawira as chair of AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce Kenya) Health Task Force working on a policy report paper to improve financing modalities for diagnostics, "We cannot treat what we cannot find". 
• Hologic's Portfolio & Footprint in Africa: 3 divisions; Diagnostics (molecular tests), Breast Cancer Care (end-to-end solutions for patients), Gynecological Health (heavy menstrual bleeding) / Strong diagnostics footprint in Africa.  
• Hologic's Local Partnerships to Improve Access to Women's Health in Africa: Partnership with ENAI; creating community awareness on HPV vaccination and screening to marginalized Masai women / PinkDrive. 
• Hologic Celebrating 40 Years of Commitment to Women's Health in 2025 
• Driving Female Leadership Forward: Nyawira participates in mentorship programs for young women as a board member of HBA.  

EF: Imagine you are addressing the world audience in this forum as a representative of women's health in Africa; what kind of message would you like to send to the world from your standpoint? 

NN: Globally, we recognize the challenges women face today, and there is clear evidence that investing in women's health could save trillions of dollars. Yet, we are slow to act, especially regarding policy reforms and investments in this area. I ask all of us why we are delaying actions that could benefit the world. Let's not overlook the simple opportunities in preventive care. Currently, over half of women worldwide, lack access to basic preventive services like blood pressure checks, sugar tests, or screenings for breast and cervical cancer. Investing in preventive care would save lives and reduce the higher costs of managing complications from these diseases.  

NN: Reflecting on the Global Women’s Health Index and why it stands out. This index represents the voices of women and girls. We went directly to their communities, asked what health issues matter most to them, and gathered insights on what’s working and what isn’t. We’re sharing this data with policymakers and stakeholders to drive reforms and encourage investments in women’s health that we know can make a real difference.  

EF: What was the mission you set for yourself as the regional director of Hologic Africa, and what legacy are you building? 

NN: Sometimes, leadership finds you it’s not something you climb toward step by step. I’ve been fortunate, no doubt. Reflecting on Hologic’s journey in Africa, we’ve been here for about six years, making incredible progress in improving women’s health and addressing infectious diseases. I want to continue building on Hologic’s entrepreneurial spirit, growing our team, and taking the organization to the next level. Right now, we’re reaching around (eight) million women, with about half being mostly those living with HIV. My goal is to expand our portfolio to impact even more women, focusing on areas like breast and cervical cancer as well as sexually transmitted infections, which are so prevalent among women. 

EF: Can you tell us about the Global Access Initiative, how it perspires in Africa, and how Hologic is building mechanisms to make it simple, scalable, and sustainable?  

NN: The Global Access Initiative, launched in 2018, aimed to scale up HIV viral load testing in Africa. HIV disproportionately affects women and girls in Africa. The majority of new HIV infections across the continent occur in young women aged 15 to 24  driven by cultural barriers, poverty and lack of access. We remain committed to this initiative, working with countries to provide full pricing transparency, helping them save money and expand access to testing. By measuring viral loads and improving treatment, we reduce transmission and protect the very women and girls who are in the future. Beyond HIV testing, we’ve integrated cervical cancer screening, recognizing the link between cervical cancer and HIV. By adding HPV testing alongside HIV services, we’re reaching high-risk populations and addressing broader women’s health needs. This work is a collective effort involving donors, country stakeholders, and philanthropists, all committed to improving health outcomes for women and girls. 

EF: How would you rate the strategic importance of attracting resources to diagnostics and allocating resources from African governments? 

NN: There is a growing recognition of its importance. Last May, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution urging countries to invest in diagnostics, recognizing that we can’t achieve universal health coverage without proper funding and support for this critical area. As the Chair of the AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce Kenya) Health Task Force, I’ve been working on a policy reform paper focused on health financing, particularly on funding diagnostics. This advocacy tool is designed for Kenya under AMCHAM, but it’s a framework that can be adapted in other countries. The message is simple: you can’t treat what you don’t know. To tackle future pandemics, we need strong lab systems, robust diagnostics frameworks, and partnerships with countries to develop and implement essential diagnostics tools. We saw this clearly during COVID and now is the time to act. 

EF: What is the strategic importance of Africa to the Hologic group in terms of portfolio? 

NN: At Hologic, we have three divisions. First is our Diagnostics division, which focuses on molecular testing platforms for HIV viral load, HPV testing for cervical cancer, and screening for sexually transmitted infections. Second is our Breast and Skeletal Health division, which supports the breast cancer care continuum, including screening, diagnostics, pathology, and treatment. Lastly, we have the Gynecological Surgical Solutions division, addressing issues like heavy and abnormal menstrual bleeding, which often stems from fibroids, a significant concern for many African women. Currently, in Africa, our focus is on diagnostics, which forms the foundation of our Middle East and Africa business. However, our presence in breast and surgical solutions is limited, mainly centered in South Africa, our first market in the region. One of our key goals is to expand this portfolio, recognizing that conditions such as fibroids are diagnosed in 80% of women of African ancestry. Over the next few years, we aim to enter these markets, offering solutions to improve the well-being of women affected by abnormal uterine bleeding and fibroids and helping them lead healthier, more comfortable lives. Molecular diagnostics is becoming easier to adopt because it allows multi-disease testing on a single platform. For example, one system can test for Zika, transplant-related issues, viral infections, and hepatitis in one place. Because of this versatility, molecular diagnostics have become more scalable than larger equipment for diseases like cervical and breast cancer, which often require specialized systems. That doesn't mean we're not investing in these areas. It's about understanding the fiscal capacity of each country, identifying the disease burden, and choosing the best entry point. From there, we work on building policy reforms and securing the funding needed to expand and support these innovative solutions. 

EF: Do you have any initiative you would like to highlight or elaborate on?   

NN: One initiative that stands out to me because it's deeply personal is our partnership with ENAI, an NGO working with the nomadic Maasai community in Kenya. These women living in the Maasai Mara face significant cultural barriers, limited information, and little access to healthcare. Together with ENAI, we launched a program to raise awareness about cervical cancer screening and increase HPV vaccination uptake among young girls and HPV testing for women to prevent cervical cancer. 

What’s remarkable is how we’ve worked within their cultural framework. ENAI, being locally rooted and respected by the community and church elders, has made a real difference. We’ve seen more girls receiving vaccinations, and despite their nomadic lifestyle, mothers ensure their daughters return for the second dose. Women have also started asking for cervical cancer screenings, saying, I’m 30; should I get screened, and where can I go? We’ve created a pathway to guide them, connecting them to local health centers for counselling, vaccinations, and screenings. Reaching these marginalized women and seeing their proactive engagement has been one of my most impactful achievements on the continent. 

EF: What will your message and speech look like when you raise a celebratory glass with your team next year for Hologic's seventh anniversary in Africa? 

NN:  There’s so much to celebrate, but what stands out is the 14 million lives we’ve impacted through our solutions. Before we launched the Global Access Initiative, access to HIV viral load testing in Africa was extremely limited. However, with support from MedAccess UK and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, we’ve made significant strides not just for women but for everyone living with HIV in Africa. We’ve also enabled tremendous savings for donors and governments, allowing them to reinvest in their programs and reach more people. For instance, we facilitated $45 million in indirect savings, creating a domino effect of reallocated resources. None of this would have been possible without the Global Access Initiative and Hologic’s investments.   

Looking ahead, I'm excited about the future. We know conditions like fibroids, abnormal menstrual bleeding, and heavy menstrual bleeding are common among women of African descent. It is about how we can bring these solutions to the continent to ensure African women can access the best care for abnormal and heavy menstrual bleeding. That's the vision I'm excited to pursue in 2025 and beyond. 

I’ve mentioned the power outages before. Labs that need to conduct tests often don’t have power, which is frustrating. It stands out when I think about our team, especially our service team, who travel miles to maintain our installations. Our clinical applications team also goes to great lengths, like sometimes traveling over 1,300 kilometers from Lusaka in Zambia to sites. That’s a 12-hour journey to set up equipment and train users to ensure care can be delivered. These individuals are my heroes, and as we celebrate our achievements, we celebrate their dedication and hard work daily.