Jumia Travels Launches Loyalty Drive to lure Travelers

By Samwel Doe Ouma

@samweldoe

 

 Jumia Travel managing Director Estelle Verdier

Jumia Travel has unveiled a loyalty program which will allow customers to secure an additional 10 to 20% exclusive discount on select hotels managing Director Estelle Verdier said.

The discount extends to all  listed Jumia travel products such as flight bookings and holiday packages. The package  aims at rewarding loyal and returning customers as well as adding value to new customers, the program carries incentives such as free airport pick up, early check-in and late check-out, refreshments and personalized service delivery.

"Our priority is to ensure that travel becomes universally accessible and affordable throughout Africa and the rest of the world in line with United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) vision on ‘Tourism for all – promoting universal accessibility,’ Estelle said.

The offer comes in wake of rebound in Tourism and travel sector with Kenya’s total number of air passenger flown by airlines growing by 11.1 percent to 10.0 million in 2016 aided by lifting of travel advisories, conference tourism, route expansion and lifting of trade bans while the Share of domestic aircraft movements to total movements increased by 0.5 percentage points from 58.8 per cent in 2015 to 59.3 per cent in 2016  with the domestic flight growth attributed to increased use of domestic air transport by the growing middle class in the Kenya  according to statistics from economic survey 2017 report.

Jumia Travel, a hotel booking website  allows customers to get the best prices for more than 25,000 hotels in Africa and more than 200,000 hotels around the world. The program is available to all registered customers on the Jumia e-Commerce ecosystem it automatically enables them to view all hotels offering Jumia Travel Smart deals.

Travelers will participate by logging into their Jumia account which is acquired upon registration. After registering on the platform customers gets access to the best available rates in the market giving them an edge in price comparison. The prices showcased will be listed from top ranking hotels as reviewed and recommended by previous customers, coupled with special negotiated rates that will exclusively apply to Jumia Travel Smart customers.

In March, Jumia Travel announced the launch of flights as part of a larger expansion plan which covered international destinations such as Dubai, London and Paris.

WHO Mulls over prequalifying Copies of Cancer drugs for Affordable treatments

WHO Mulls over prequalifying Copies of Cancer drugs for Affordable treatments

By Samwel Doe Ouma

World health organization (WHO) plans to launch a pilot project for prequalifying biosimilar medicines in an effort of making cancer treatments affordable and widely available in low and middle income countries.

According to a press statement, WHO will invite manufacturers to submit applications for prequalification of biosimilar versions of two products in the WHO essential medicines list in September.

The two biosimilar medicines- rituximab -used principally to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia and -trastuzumab -used to treat breast cancer will be prequalified. The decision which comes after a two-day meeting in Geneva between WHO, national regulators, pharmaceutical industry groups, patient and civil society groups, payers and policymakers to discuss ways to increase access to biotherapeutic medicines declared. WHO also plans to explore options for prequalifying insulin.

“Innovator biotherapeutic products are often too expensive for many countries, so biosimilars are a good opportunity to expand access and support countries to regulate and use these medicines,” said Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director General for Health Systems and Innovation.

Biotherapeutic medicines are produced from biological sources such as cells rather than synthesised chemical. They are important treatments for some cancers and other non-communicable diseases. Like generic medicines, biosimilars can be much less expensive versions of innovator biotherapeutics. They are usually manufactured by other companies once the patent on the original product has expired. Like generic medicines, biosimilars could help to increase access to treatment in lower-resourced countries and provide a solution to escalating health costs in high-income countries.

Increased use of biosimilars will require patients and their physicians to understand and trust that the benefits of this type of medicine substantially outweigh any risks.

“Biosimilars could be game-changers for access to medicines for certain complex conditions,” said Dr Suzanne Hill, WHO’s Director of Essential Medicines and Health Products. “But they need to be regulated appropriately to ensure therapeutic value and patient safety.”

Prequalification is a service provided by WHO to assess the quality, safety and efficacy of products that address global public health priorities. If the products meet international standards, they are listed on the WHO web site as eligible for procurement, giving purchasing agencies a range of quality-assured diagnostics, medicines and vaccines from which to choose. Many low-income countries also use WHO’s lists of prequalified products to guide their selection of medicines, vaccines and technologies for national procurement.