Kenya-Tanzania joint project: Official launch event in Nairobi

Ministry of Health representatives from both countries were among those attending the official launch in Nairobi of the NNHF Kenya-Tanzania joint project designed to improve access to care for people with haemophilia and sickle cell disease.

An official launch event for the NNHF Kenya-Tanzania joint project was held on 2 December 2020 in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi following the kick-off in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania a few days earlier (for more, click here). Honourable Dr Mercy Mwangangi, Kenya’s Cabinet Administrative Secretary of Health, officially launched the project, emphasising on the Ministry’s commitment and support.

The successful event attracted a large number of attendees, with project partners Dr Kibet Shikuku from Kenya and Dr Stella Rwezaula from Tanzania along with different stakeholders from the blood disorders community participating either in person or virtually due to pandemic travel restrictions.

The event provided the occasion for representatives of the Ministries of Health of both Kenya and Tanzania to participate in the first High-Level meeting for the two countries to anchor the care of blood disorders within the national healthcare system.  

Thanks to a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF), the joint project aims to accelerate access to care by leveraging resources for haemophilia to also benefit people with sickle cell disease.

The teams are currently performing outreach activities to assess needs at the target centres involved in the project and to introduce the joint initiative to representatives in counties across Kenya. Information gained from surveys will guide the creation of a project plan to optimally address the needs of different stakeholders, from training of health-care professionals to diagnosis infrastructure.