KGS Students Receive AAHCI Leadership Merit Awards

Ms. Loise Njogu and Nabwami Patricia Esther, students at the KEMRI Graduate School (KGS) are among the top seven finalist of the prestigious 2024, Alliance of Academic Health Centers International (AAHCI) that brought together academic participants from USA, Philippines, Brazil, Malaysia, and Kenya.

Ms. Njogu and her colleague, Nabwami participated in the 2024 AAHCI Student Leadership Initiative (ASLI) that was created to challenge health profession students at academic health centers to submit novel proposals or innovative programs tackling key topics in health professions education.

They submitted their winning proposal through KGS which is a member of the AAHCI that sailed through to the final stage and were presented during an online defense to the Ignite! Talks: AAHCI Student Leadership Initiative (ASLI) panel on 23rd May 2024.

Apart from KEMRI Graduate School, the other finalists were drawn from the University of Malaya, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of the Philippines College of Medicine, University of São Paulo Medical
School and Western University of Health Sciences.

The goal of the 2024 ASLI program themed, “Innovative Interprofessional Education (IPE) Models and Programmes”, is to provide students in the health profession with an opportunity for thought leadership to share their ideas and proposals for innovations in inter professional education.

Specifically, students were invited to share proposals that highlighted new ideas or existing innovative programs, models, or studies that inspired research and innovation in IPE in response to new challenges at the different health systems represented by AAHCI. The proposals were also to address the impact of IPE in professionalism, patient care, and/or patient safety, and encourage academic health centers to promote and develop innovative interprofessional education programs and models.

KGS’s first presentation was titled, ‘Incorporating Interprofessional Education in Internship Programs in Kenya ‘ by Njogu, Dr. Paul Gichuki, Dr. Martin Bundi, and Dr. Maricianah Onono and Cyrus Gichana, as a contributor to the proposal. According to Loise presentation, Interprofessional Education (IPE) represents an emerging system-thinking approach to collaborative healthcare aimed at enhancing patient outcomes.

Its synopsis states that the World Health Organization (WHO) has formulated an Action Framework for IPE and Collaborative Practice, proposing educational and curricular strategies for jurisdictions to enhance healthcare service delivery within their specific contexts. Developed nations are grappling with the implementation of IPE, facing challenges such as insufficient human resources, complexities in integrating IPE into existing curricula, financial constraints, inadequate leadership, and professional stereotyping. While data on IPE in developing countries are limited, it is plausible that these challenges, observed in developed nations, are likely to be encountered in their developing counterparts. In many countries, various health disciplines undergo a one-year internship for practical training following a more extensive 4–6-year theoretical training period.

The second abstract was on AMR Secure Certification: Interprofessional Excellence in Antimicrobial Stewardship by Nabwami Patricia Esther, Dr. Martin Bundi, and Dr Maricianah Onono. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a global challenge particularly impacting developing countries, notably Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019, SubSaharan Africa reported the highest mortality rate attributable to AMR compared to other regions, highlighting the severity of the issue in this part of the world. Gaps in healthcare professionals’ education and training hinder our ability to curb AMR with absence of global standards impending comprehensive response. This educational deficiency directly threatens public health, resulting in suboptimal patient care, increased healthcare costs and perpetuation of resistant strains. Recognizing and bridging the gap is vital to empower healthcare professionals globally and coordinate a response to the growing threat of AMR.

The Ag. Director General represented by Dr. Martin Bundi congratulated the finalists for making KEMRI and the whole AAHCI Eastern Africa Regional Office proud.

“We are proud to have the support of AAHCI members from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Nambia.” He further urged KEMRI Graduate School students to innovate ideas to revolutionize IPE, to stay tuned for upcoming ASLI calls and be a part of shaping the future of healthcare.