After a 2-year lull occasioned by the advent of COVID-19, the Quality Healthcare Kenyan Awards were back with a pomp and glamour. It was again an opportunity for healthcare providers and innovators to “reap what they sowed” and be recognized for the great work they do in improving the quality of healthcare services in Kenya.
The QHKA is the brainchild of Zawadi Brand Solutions (ZBS Ltd) and works with the Ministry of Health and AMREF Health Africa to improve the standards of health services by recognizing outstanding performance and promoting a culture of continuous quality improvement. The award also advocates strong partnerships between health service providers and users, fosters innovation and the use of information technology and share best practices. The QHKA is the brainchild of Ms. Grace Ndegwa.
The third edition of the QHKA took place at Safari Park Hotel in an exclusive black-tie event. Being one of the nominees under the Students Innovation Project of the Year Category, I was awarded a free pass to attend this auspicious event. Through our NCDs 365 project, we were feted as winner of this category.
NCDs 365 is a project with a single most focus of creating awareness, sensitizing and improving peoples NCDs literacy. The project recognizes the growing body of need to bridge the knowledge of gap by sharing relevant NCDs messages, developing toolkits and new NCDs innovation. The messages, sourced from reputable organizations including the Global NCD Alliance and World Health Organization, are curated and simplified to make them easy to understand. Taking cognizance of the huge social media penetration, the project leverages platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to share the NCDs messages.
NCDs project was conducted in two phases. In 2020, daily messages covering the major NCDs were shared across all the social media platform. Working with the team at Stowelink, we were able to develop 365 messages around the major NCDs. These messages were well researched and thoroughly reviewed by the team. In 2021, which marked the second phase, the project focused on producing animated videos on NCDs which were posted weakly on YouTube throughout the year. The project is ongoing and, in this year, (2022), we have started doing NCDs lived experience stories to give hope to people living with NCDs. Identified persons living with NCDs are interviewed and their journey with NCDs and story of hope shared with NCDs community and the general population.
Winning this award serves to inspire not only me, but also the team that ensured its success. The award is a testament to the work we are doing and our resolve towards addressing NCDs, not only in Kenya, but also globally. Extend my sincere appreciation to every partner who participated in this project. I also, from the bottom of my heart, extend my sincere appreciation to Mr. Ogweno Stephen, CEO Stowelink whom I worked with closely to implement this project in 2020 and also in 2021.
I also want to wholeheartedly thank Ms. Grace Ndegwa for giving us this opportunity to showcase our project. The QHKA has exposed us to global platforms which serve to boost our professional competence.
ODUOR KEVIN 