The Chief Executive Officer, Parmindar (Darsi) S. Lotay has over 30 years experience in senior management with large multinational pharmaceutical companies in more than 19 countries of Eastern and Central Africa. He set up Pharm Access Africa Limited with a goal of increasing access to healthcare in the region. Earlier on in his career in the industry, Darsi realized that pharmaceutical sales and marketing was not just pill pushing. The industry also had to involve itself with educational materials for the patients to take better care of themselves. The medical fraternity too had to be kept abreast of current thinking and treatment options: this meant going an extra mile, which, of course, has never been a problem. He served The Kenya Diabetic Association (the first of diabetic associations in Africa) in various capacities. This association helped setting up of similar associations in Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda. Darsi was the Secretary General for the 11th Congress of the International Diabetes Federation held in Nairobi in 1982. This conference attracted over 4,000 delegates and is the only conference of the federation that was held in Africa. From 1983 to 1985, Darsi served as the Vice-Chairman of the Kenya Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis.
During his tenure with multi-national pharmaceutical industry, he set up stand alone marketing structures in Kenya that provided marketing support for over 19 countries in Eastern, Central and West African countries. He participated in numerous task forces and advisory panels in various therapeutic areas and pioneered multi detailing and marketing teams in the region. Numerous media campaigns in fast moving consumer goods were also designed during this period. Darsi advised the National Drug Authority in Uganda and The Pharmacy and Poisons Board in Kenya in setting up of the registration processes for pharmaceuticals in Uganda and Kenya respectively. When the Government of Uganda in collaboration with UNAIDS, was setting up the Pilot Project for Access to Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Uganda he played a pivotal role in harnessing the synergies from pharmaceutical industry and the government sector. Darsi still serves as a Director of the Medical Access Uganda Limited and is a member of the Kenyan Ministry of Health Task Force on Anti-Retroviral Therapy and Chairs the sub-committee on Drugs. In 2003, Darsi consulted for Family Health International (FHI) in setting up of Comprehensive Care Centres in Nakuru and at St. Mary’s Hospital, Mumias. PAAL provides logistics support to the above and to the Comprehensive Care Centre at The Coast Province General Hospital, Mombasa. Darsi has worked on numerous task forces as under:
1985 - Chairman, Exhibition sub-committee, International Conference on Hypertension in African populations. 1992 -1998 - Chairman of Kenya Polio Plus Program Rotary International Program for eradication of Polio by the year 2005 in partnership with Kenya Extended Program on Immunization, UNICEF, CDC, USAID, DANIDA, JICA and DfID. 1995 - International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Kampala, Uganda organized the satellite meetings “Treating Sexually Transmitted Infections as an intervention to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS” and “Positive Action;. 1995 - Worked with National AIDS Control Programs to develop national programs to tackle the pandemic via prevention, voluntary counselling and testing, prevention of mother to child transmission and increasing access to anti-retroviral therapy in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia. October 1999 - Addressed the 6th Conference of the African Ministers of Health held in Cairo, Egypt on “How The Multi National Pharmaceutical Industry and The Member States of The Organisation of African Unity can work together in the war against AIDS”. This paper was a prelude to the Abuja declaration. May 2000 - Keynote speaker at a meeting on “ The Role of Multi-National Pharmaceutical Industry in Increasing Access to Essential Drugs in Kenya” organized by Medecines sans Frontieres and Health Action International. July 2000 - Member of the Ministry of Health, Kenya Task Force on Increasing Access to Essential Drugs in Kenya. 2000 - Honorary Advisor to Centrale Humanitaire Medica Pharmaceutique for The East Africa regional office. March 2001 - Advisor, The Trustees of Rotary Foundation of The Rotary International to look at the setting up of Compassionate Care Centre at Marrianhill Hospital, Pinetown, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. February 2003 - Presented key note addresses on Polio and HIV/AIDS at the African Presidential Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. November 2003 - Hosted Tore Godal, Executive Secretary of Global Action on Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) on behalf of UNICEF. 2004 - Senior Advisor to Global Health Action International for their African project. September 2004 - Consulted for Family Health International of Global HIV/AIDS Initiative Nigeria (GHAIN) Project on pharmaceutical and laboratory services in various states in Nigeria. The main purpose of this project was to rapidly identify through participatory site assessments those secondary health facilities that are most ready to begin providing HIV clinic care services, including ART, as part of the comprehensive HIV/AIDS program funded by the United States Agency for International Development. April 2005 - Monitor, The Trustees of Rotary Foundation of The Rotary International to see how the Marrianhill facility serves PLWAS and community. |
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