Duniya Healthcare, a pioneering pharmaceutical and health logistics startup based in Zambia, reports having prevented 578 deaths in rural health centers over a six-month period-almost twice the 299 lives saved at similar facilities relying on conventional procurement methods, according to their latest impact report.
This comprehensive study, carried out collaboratively by Duniya Healthcare, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), and the Africa Health and Economic Transformation Institute (AHETI), offers robust quantitative proof that enhancing medicine supply chains directly correlates with reduced mortality rates in rural communities. The research monitored 16 Catholic mission hospitals and rural clinics across Zambia from January to June 2025. Half of these facilities implemented Duniya’s innovative Rural Distribution Model (RDM), while the other half continued with traditional procurement systems, serving as control sites.
This report emerges against the backdrop of persistent challenges in Zambia’s healthcare supply chain, where frequent shortages and delivery delays have long compromised the quality of care in remote areas.
Despite governmental initiatives aimed at stabilizing medical supplies, many public and faith-based health centers still depend on erratic shipments from central warehouses or sporadic purchases from private wholesalers. The findings from Duniya’s study provide rare, data-driven evidence that streamlining distribution processes can drastically reduce preventable deaths in underserved regions.
To quantify the number of lives saved, the researchers employed a quasi-experimental comparative design, comparing eight facilities using Duniya’s RDM with eight control facilities operating under conventional procurement. Data collection and analysis took place between July and August 2025, applying disease-specific fatality rates-sourced from national statistics and peer-reviewed studies-to patient treatment records for eight prevalent illnesses, including malaria, pneumonia, hypertension, and severe anemia. This methodology allowed for a direct comparison of mortality outcomes between the two groups.
The pilot sites demonstrated the most significant reductions in deaths caused by malaria, pneumonia, and hypertension. Specifically, 311 malaria-related deaths were prevented, alongside 167 pneumonia fatalities and 67 hypertension-related deaths. In contrast, control sites averted 56, 87, and 153 deaths in these categories, respectively.
The report credits these mortality improvements primarily to enhanced medicine availability. Facilities utilizing Duniya’s model maintained an 88% availability rate of essential drugs, compared to 71% at control sites-a 17-percentage point difference that often determined whether patients received timely treatment or were turned away.
Moreover, only 38% of Duniya-supported facilities reported having to refuse patients due to stock shortages, whereas 67% of control facilities faced this issue. For diseases with high fatality risks, such disparities can be the difference between life and death. “Our commitment to prioritizing the vulnerable is a core principle,” stated Bishop Evans Chinyemba, who oversees health services for ZCCB. “This collaboration embodies our faith in action, ensuring that even the most isolated communities have access to vital medications.”
Delivery speed also played a crucial role. At pilot sites, 88% of orders were fulfilled within seven days, compared to just 63% at control locations, some of which experienced delays exceeding two weeks. Duniya’s approach consolidates demand from multiple rural clinics into bulk orders, attracting competitive bids from wholesalers in Lusaka. These bulk shipments are then divided and delivered directly to each facility without transport charges.
“This distribution strategy mirrors the network models that expanded telecommunications across rural Africa,” explained Duniya CEO Mwansa Chalo in a previous interview. “By aggregating scattered demand, we create an economically sustainable supply chain.”
The model also improved financial management at health centers. Only 19% of pilot facilities postponed procurement due to budget constraints, compared to 41% among control sites. All pilot facilities adhered to regular monthly ordering schedules, while 25% of control sites resorted to reactive purchasing only after stock depletion. Additionally, approximately 75% of pilot sites employed electronic inventory systems, reducing forecasting errors and medicine wastage-a 12% improvement over control facilities.
Nonetheless, the report identified areas needing improvement. Some stockouts at pilot sites lasted up to 30 days, indicating vulnerabilities related to funding or supplier delays. Affordability remained inconsistent, with 62% of all facilities reporting that medicines were only “sometimes affordable.” Control sites cited delayed government funding, incomplete deliveries from the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), and high transportation costs that forced difficult trade-offs between purchasing medicines and covering delivery expenses. Emergency orders also posed challenges, as the standard aggregation process was too slow to meet urgent demands.
To tackle these issues, Duniya plans to establish emergency buffer stocks, secure additional supplier agreements, and streamline payment procedures to allow facilities to pay Duniya directly. The company also aims to deepen integration with ZAMMSA to complement national systems and promote universal adoption of electronic inventory management tools across all supported sites.
With a five-year agreement already in place with ZCCB, Duniya is preparing to scale its model to more Catholic mission health facilities throughout Zambia. The Catholic Church operates over 75 mission health centers, making it the largest faith-based healthcare network in the country. Based on current performance, the report estimates that nationwide implementation could prevent over 10,000 deaths annually.
ZCCB has expressed interest in replicating this model in Kenya and Uganda, where Duniya plans to expand operations in early 2026. “The 578 lives saved represent more than statistics,” Chalo remarked at the October 20 launch event in Lusaka. “They symbolize mothers, children, and families granted a renewed chance at life. This partnership demonstrates that when innovation is combined with compassion, even the most remote communities can access life-saving healthcare.”
In a July 2025 interview with TechCabal, Chalo shared his vision of making Duniya the largest pharmaceutical distribution network in Africa. The company’s recent achievements suggest this goal is well within reach.