Global good partners in profile: Linda Taylor, Jembi Health Systems
Each quarter, Digital Square shines the spotlight on global goods and innovators in our community through our Global Goods Community Newsletter. Linda Taylor is a Product Delivery Manager at Jembi Health Systems.
Tell us about your background and how your career has evolved to bring you into the global digital health sector?
I graduated with bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Business at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. My first project as a software developer was to work on payroll systems, doing everything from analysis to programming to training and providing end user support.
Through that experience, I realized enjoyed the programming far less than talking to people and figuring out how products could fit their needs. With that in mind, I began working as a business analyst, working at the intersection of business and software for many years. This included implementing and providing business support for software solutions in many different industries including oil companies, construction, and tourism. I worked for both global companies like IBM and Zimbabwean companies like C.F Tulley. It gave me the opportunity to learn about different industries and live abroad.
About 11 years ago, I was trying to figure out what to do next and came across Jembi’s website. I didn’t have any particular experience in healthcare, but the organization sounded very innovative. It was a small company at that time. I think I was employee number six or seven. When I started, I did a little bit of everything; from project management, to contributing to grant proposals, to taking minutes at meetings.
Since then, Jembi has grown enormously. We have offices in South Africa and Mozambique. I am now a Product Delivery Manager, which means I manage teams who are working on a wide range of projects across Africa. And the work is never dull! It’s been an interesting space to be in and I feel like I have found my niche.
What excites you most about the digital health space?
The possibility of making an impact is very exciting. Digital health has huge potential to make a positive impact on people’s health. Digital health care is a challenging field—the problems are complex and it’s a lot harder than it may first appear. But when you are working in sub-Saharan Africa, in greenfield sites, you often get the chance to leapfrog technology: you can go from having manual paper-based systems to using some of the most innovative technologies.
It is also exciting to see people using our systems and developing new skills. It is great to see people getting greater access to better information that assists them in their day to day work.
How has your work been impacted by the support of Digital Square?
The key thing around Digital Square is the support for global goods-- tools that are reusable across different country settings. We have found that there are many new initiatives that have no support or long-term sustainability plans. Even systems that are well-established and provide value do not have long term financial sustainability plans.
Digital Square’s efforts to harmonize players, support collaborative efforts, and build reusable solutions is very valuable.
How do you think Digital Square is helping to bring together the global good communities?
Digital Square‘s work aligning donors and funding priorities is key. Many digital health projects tend to have a short-term focus but lack a long-term sustainability strategy. Convincing donors to align efforts and to support long-term funding is critically important for the sustainability of global good products.
Secondly, Digital Square also looks at the product as a whole, not simply the development of the software solution. This includes everything from the actual software tool, to the product guides, the implementation process, capacity building, support and long-term maintenance. Many excellent tools fail on implementation because those other aspects have not been considered or funded. It is important that Digital Square understands and supports that whole process and product.
How will covid-19 impact the digital health sector over the next five years? how do you generally see the digital health sector evolving over the next five years?
We have already seen so much change over the course of the last year. We have seen that people can collaborate quickly and effectively when everyone has the same high priority goal. Barriers have disappeared because we all need to work together in the COVID-19 response.
One of the biggest things people are learning is the value of strong system architectures and reusable, adaptable software tools. They can be deployed quickly and can start to collect and provide data rapidly, leading to a more targeted public health response.
What are some of your other interest areas?
I like to be creative when I am not work. I enjoy reading and painting. I live in Cape town, so we have wonderful beaches and mountains close by that I enjoy when I can. The Jembi office is also within 10 minutes of wine country, so I try to take advantage of all the wine tasting on offer. Did I mention that we are hiring?