WASHINGTON — For an app that helps pharmacies in Africa manage their medicines, the term “pharmacy benefit manager” has become a dirty word.

The organization, called Maisha Meds, plays the role of a middleman between international groups like USAID and the Gates Foundation and pharmacies. By definition, it’s a PBM. But since it’s a nonprofit company and it subsidizes medicines and tests aimed at promoting public health, it’s hesitant to describe itself that way.

“Because so many people kind of think of PBMs in the U.S. as the enemy, we don’t ourselves use that term,” said Maisha Meds’ founder and CEO, Jessica Vernon.

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