Kenya’s health system is receiving a much-needed boost through a new international health partnership that combines Africa-led AI technology with local knowledge.
Healthcare leaders gathered in Nairobi on February 22, 2024, to collaborate on enhancing health outcomes and program performance. The round table, titled “Technology-enabled Health Systems Strengthening,” brought together high-level government, donor, and private sector stakeholders in Kenya. Participants included the Kenya Ministry of Health, Digital Directorate, Kenya Council of Governors, Kenya Healthcare Federation, Kenya Red Cross, AMREF, Palladium, PS Kenya, and LVCT Health.
Bernard Langat, Division Head at the Directorate of Health Informatics, Ministry of Health, highlighted the government’s role in providing an enabling environment for partners to offer solutions for health system strengthening, such as digital health and AI. He emphasized the importance of starting with good ideas and refining them along the way.
The healthcare sector faces challenges like inadequate funding, resource limitations, staff shortages, escalating medical costs, low insurance enrollment, and regulatory hurdles for new products. Although there has been progress in reducing HIV prevalence and related mortality, new infections persist among key populations and adolescent girls. Kenya is one of the 30 high-TB burden countries globally. Despite improvements in TB case detection, a significant number of TB cases still go undetected.
Vantage Health Technologies, a part of the BroadReach Group, partnered with Africa Health Business (AHB) to host a leadership session focused on enhancing healthcare providers’ medical and technological skills. The partnership aims to provide training and capacity-building opportunities for local healthcare professionals.
The session’s objectives included advancing technology solutions using AI-driven and data-centric approaches to address healthcare challenges, striving towards achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030, and forging partnerships that can be expanded to other countries facing similar healthcare issues.
Dr. Gakombe Kanyenje Karangaita, Chairperson of the Kenya Healthcare Federation, emphasized the need for cohesive functioning of all health system building blocks to realize the UHC goal. Meboh Abuor from the Council of Governors Kenya highlighted the urgency of AI-driven capacity building for Community Health Promoters. The Kenya Red Cross stressed tailoring technology to benefit fragile health systems and ensure community impact and sustainability.
Dr. Amit Thakker from AHB emphasized the importance of integrating digital health and AI into Kenya’s healthcare infrastructure. The partnership between AHB and Vantage Health Technologies aims to address health system challenges and accelerate progress towards UHC in Kenya through AI-powered healthcare technologies.
Initial steps in the partnership involve community engagement initiatives to promote health education, technology integration, capacity building, and community involvement for a patient-centric health system in Kenya.
Vantage offers AI-powered solutions for data management, patient care, and communication in diseases like HIV, TB, and malaria. AHB provides market insights and fosters engagements across the public and private sectors.
Contact: Samu.hashe@accenture.com
About BroadReach Group and HIV:
BroadReach Group is a social impact business focused on harnessing innovation and technology to empower human action. They have worked in over 30 countries to improve health outcomes and have a history of developing innovative approaches for HIV and TB care.
For more information, visit www.BroadReachCorporation.com, https://apo-opa.co/3OYVhhp, or www.AfricaHB.com, or contact info@vantagehealth.tech.
About AHB:
Africa Health Business is committed to improving access to equitable healthcare in Africa through research, market insights, business solutions, collaborations, and capacity building. They work with various stakeholders to strengthen health systems in over 30 countries.