College Hall Meetings

a). First Meeting

HIGDA-JKUAT held a successful first College Hall meeting in May 2017 to advocate for development of research agenda and to stimulate the use of GIS/WEB mapping among the university management, faculty members and students. During the event, over 150 faculty members and students were introduced to the scope of HIGDA; specifically the need for curricula review to align with Industry needs in relation to DHIS2, DATIM MFLv2 and mainstream GIS and the development of innovations to assist in digitization and sharing of health related data.

b). Second Meeting

The second one day stakeholders College Hall meeting was successfully held on 11th July. The meeting attracted a total of 173 participants, 90 males and 83 females. The participants included invited guests, the Senior Management Officers of JKUAT, Deans and Chairs of Academic Departments of JKUAT, Students of JKUAT, Alumni of the modular course “Use of GIS for decision making in health” offered by HIGDA and bootcamp conducted at JKUAT, and representatives of Kenyatta University and Mount Kenya University.

The meeting which was officially opened by the Acting Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs of JKUAT, Prof Romanus Odhiambo, attracted 19 academic Schools and Departments of JKUAT, representatives from 4 Counties (Nairobi, Kwale, Kisumu and Kiambu) and representatives of 3 partners; Government of Kenya Ministry of Health, Association of Medical Records Officers of Kenya (AMRO-K) and IntraHealth.

Among the guest participants were the Chief of Party of HIGDA, Rose Nzyioka, JKUAT Registrar Academic Affairs, Dr Esther Mworia, the Principal of the College of Health Sciences, Prof Haroun Mengech, Mr Onemus Kamau head of eHealth, GoK MoH, Dr. Musa Mohammed, CEO, Mama Lucy Hospital, Nairobi County, Dr. Andre Yitambe, Chair, Health Records, Kenyatta University, Mr. Duncan Mutongu, Chair, Health Records, Mount Kenya University, Ms. Mercy Kahare, Chair, AMRO. The alumni of the “Use of GIS for decision making in health” short course included, Dr. Kevin Rombosia, Medical Superintendent, Kisumu County and Dr. Fatihiyya Wangara, Kwale County. Mr. Isaiah Nyabuto, Consultant with PSI was a participant of the first HIGDA JKUAT bootcamp of July 2017.

The meeting whose theme was “emerging opportunities for a multidisciplinary approach” showcased the achievements of the project and outlined the importance of eHealth in achieving the Kenya Government aim of achieving universal health care (UHC) for all citizens by the year 2022. Mr. Onesmus Kamau, head of eHealth in the Ministry of Health explained the importance of data analytics and ehealth in achieving the Kenya Governments Universal Health Care (UHC) programme.
The audience was also appraised on the various opportunities within the digital health sector and the importance of using a multi-disciplinary approach to develop products and solutions that will hasten the achievement of universal health care.

The students were encouraged to form multidisciplinary teams that can participate in the upcoming bootcamps. These bootcamps will give the teams an environment and opportunity to develop products that can be up scaled to commercial level thus providing employment opportunities and income to graduates.

The impact of the “Use of GIS for decision making in health” short course training was show cased to the audience. Dr. Kevin Rombosia, Medical Superintendent, Kisumu County and Dr. Fatihiyya Wangara, Kwale County who are alumni of this training show cased the products they have developed in their counties using County health data. Their presentations demonstrated the significant and positive impact their products have had on improving decision making in Health at County level. In addition, the presenters have become leadership champions of the use GIS for decision making in health within their counties a feat that other trainees of the short courses should aspire.

Mr Nyabuto demonstrated the use of the application their team developed during the bootcamp. This product is earmarked to have a significant impact in the Kenya health sector.

College Hall Meeting: Advancing Healthcare Innovation

Developing technological solutions in healthcare is crucial for enhancing efficiency, improving patient outcomes, and promoting accessibility, thereby standardizing and advancing healthcare globally.

This was the rallying call during a College Hall Meeting organised by JKUAT’s College of Health Sciences in collaboration with Palladium and Health Workforce Training & Research Kenya (Hetark). Serving as the launch pad, the event galvanized JKUAT students across its five colleges to incubate and develop solutions aimed at revolutionizing healthcare services in Kenya.

Head of Digital Health, Informatics Policy, and Research at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Joyce Wamicwe, encouraged students to think critically and pitch their ideas, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and problem-solving.

Dr. Wamicwe also underscored the significance of facilitating the transition from paper-based to electronic health records systems, a transition facilitated by Palladium.

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