Welcome to Health Systems Pathways - Population Services International's health system strengthening podcast - making it easier for people to navigate complex health systems.

Insights to inform, influence, and inspire!

In this episode, your host, Marina Dalton-Brown, continues her focus on digital tools and technologies that help people access the care they need. This includes Digital Health Locator Tools which helps direct people to health information and services, much like how Google Maps guides you through unfamiliar streets.

For this episode, Marina went to Kenya to experience first-hand how digital technology is revolutionizing the way people interact with the broader health system.

In the last episode, we learned about the connection between mobile money and digital health tools. We heard about PROMPT for Mums, which is helping over 2 million mothers in Kenya access the antenatal care they need, in the context of Universal Health Care. We touched on Jali, a WhatsApp platform that is aiming to reach the 11 million WhatsApp users across the country with health information on COVID-19, cholera, breast cancer, mental health and wellness, among other health-related topics.

In this episode, we delve deeper into Jali, as Marina discusses the tool with Ministry of Health leaders and consumers at the October 20th Mashujaa Day Celebrations. We learn about the benefits and the vision for Jali, and the impact of digital health tools in the country.

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• HSS Insights Series : PSI - To access Population Service International's blogs and policy briefs, visit our health systems insights website.

Health Systems Pathways is an SCL Agency Production

Marina Dalton Brown: Welcome to Health Systems Pathways.

Thanks for tuning in.

This podcast is designed to share insights that inform, inspire, and invite discussion about what's being done to make it easier for people to navigate complex health systems in different parts of the world.

I am Marina Dalton Brown, and I'm pleased to be your host for this two part episode on digital health, with a focus on digital tools that support health consumers in finding the care they need.

Let's dive in.

In part one of this episode, we heard about PROMPT, a digital tool that is helping over 2 million mums in Kenya access antenatal care, so that mothers have a better chance at healthier pregnancies and deliveries.

We also learned about the JALI WhatsApp chatbot.

which is a digital health locator tool that lights the path for health consumers in Kenya to access the information and care they need.

Within the space of three months, over 40, 000 citizens in Kenya have already registered on the JALI platform, accessing information on various health topics, including COVID 19, breast cancer, and mental health and wellness.

The aim is to target the 11 million active WhatsApp users in the country.

In part two, I continue discussions with health providers and citizens at the National Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kenya to learn more about how tools like JALI are bringing this year's theme of Universal Healthcare to life.

Grace Wasike gave me a warm welcome to Kenya and shared her passionate perspective on why digital tools matter for health system strengthening.

Welcome to Kenya, and you can say 'jambo' to say 'hi' in Kiswahili.

My name is Grace Wasike.

I work in the Ministry of Health, Kenya, in the department of Public Health and Professional Standards in the Directorate of Health Promotion and I'm a team lead.

I am a division head in the division of health information, education and communication.

Mashujaa Day, It's a Kiswahili word to recognize and commemorate the heroes in Kenya.

Shujaa means hero in Kiswahili.

So when we are commemorating the heroes of Kenya, we are also taking advantage of leveraging on the day of Mashujaa.

When the president again will be launching Universal Health Coverage in Kenya.

There are several information and education that will be taken out to the communities to sensitize communities.

The interventions and services that are given in the Ministry of Health, So, this day is a big day in Kenya and Kenyans come together to commemorate, to celebrate their heroes in the country So during this celebration, it's also a good platform for Kenyans to think about health and give Kenyans another perspective of health, the preventive and promotive health care.

Marina Dalton Brown: Tell me a little bit more about those tools that are helping.

All right The first one I can speak about passionately is the JALI chatbot.

This is an innovation.

It's a WhatsApp platform where it has a Kenyan number where somebody downloads the app on WhatsApp and then can be able to interact with the healthcare system.

They are automated information in the JALI chatbot.

There are a lot of messages and information that have been uploaded into the platform, where someone can access any healthcare information they would require.

Maybe they have, they would like to know where can I get a certain service?

The JALI chatbot can prompt and give you feedback.

Maybe somebody would like to understand what does the Ministry of Health...

what are the services given?

That one is also there.

The interventions that are being supported in the health care system, including child health, nutrition, HIV, name it all, all those interventions, the information, the key messages, are now uploaded onto the JALI chatbot, and it is being used, it is friendly to all the citizens, whether they have their small phones or big phones, they are able to speak to the Ministry of Health through this platform.

So it's a very friendly platform and can give real time information depending on what the person wants to know.

Empowering communities with information and messages on health is the key thing to do, because this is about prevention and promoting health.

Vis a vis waiting for somebody to get sick and they are admitted in hospital where they are incurring a lot of bills, and sometimes it becomes a challenge.

So my take here would be, if somebody would ask me, is to empower communities to take charge of their own health by giving them the relevant information.

The shift should be to promotive and preventive healthcare vis a vis the curative healthcare.

Marina Dalton Brown: Grace implores us to focus even more on getting the right information to citizens so that they can make better health choices and invest in preventive care.

Can digital tools really help people do that?

Nelly Korir shares her views as I spoke with her at the health promotion display booth.

She had just signed up for JALI, and I'm curious as to why and how she thinks this tool can help her.

My name is Nelly Korir.

I'm a teacher in a school in Kericho County.

Yeah.

And, uh, first, I'm delighted to be here.

And, uh, I'm so happy to have, uh, registered myself with JALI so that I can be getting any highlights on health matters through my phone.

And, uh, our phone has really helped us, especially with the SMSs, surely get updates on what goes on in the Ministry of Health.

I surely get them myself, like for the NHIF.

Yeah, so when I got JALI, I thought maybe to enhance that awareness or anything that's going on in the Ministry of Health.

Marina Dalton Brown: I gathered from Nelly's comments that the benefit that JALI brings is sufficient to make a decision to incorporate it into her life and to share it with her loved ones.

My final guest, Teresia Wanjiru Njoroge, helps us to understand the importance of integrated digital tools that support both the health workforce and consumers, and shares the progress at the county level in Kenya when these tools are applied.

Teresia Wanjiru Njoroge: My name is Teresia Wanjiru Njoroge.

I work for the county government of Kiambu.

Uh, currently I act as the Director of Public Health, but specifically I coordinate community health services.

I am the head community health services in the county, school health program, and adolescent health there.

Uh, when we talk about Directorate of Public Health, it has several units.

This is where we are talking about disease surveillance.

HIV prevention and treatment, nutrition services, health promotion, where uh, HBCC is domiciled.

We are also talking about the issues of, uh, malaria control, so public health is wider.

Yeah, but specifically I do community health services.

I have a passion for it.

And this is where we are working with community health promoters.

When we talk matters to do with Universal Health Coverage, we know they are the four critical drivers is where we are talking about a hundred percent of our population being covered.

We are doing these through the, uh, outreaches.

If at all, it's all the pregnant mothers, through our community health promoters, through our adolescent champions.

We are able to take them through the various digital tools, and they're able to follow these mothers and make sure that they come to the clinic early.

We are also talking about issues to do with digital.

We were doing some activities with the PSI on the issue of the digital tools and when we are talking about matters universal health care, we are talking about the electronic community of the information system.

So whatever we were able to learn through the previous program that we had, it is really helping us because like when we talk about community health promoters, they are supposed now to be reporting using digital tools.

And through the program, we were able to train them matters Covid and other issues.

And we believe now as we talk about UHC it is a prize to us as a department.

And I can add the other day we are among the four counties.

First, the four counties that were doing polio immunization because of the outbreak that was there.

And among our best practice, our innovations, we decided to use the digital from the experience that we had with the PSI.

And what we've realized in the first round, we didn't do very well, but in the second round that the review was done last week, we were leading among the 10 counties because we were able to use digital through Facebook, WhatsApp.

We brought on board adolescent champions.

The digital thing is, uh, the way to go.

You are able to communicate because not all the people can afford the TV, the radios, but now through maybe WhatsApp, people are able to pass the message and we've seen it work.

So we believe it is really working for a community of promoters.

Previously, when they report through the hard copy, sometimes the paper get lost.

So the information gets lost.

But now, we'll be able now to use like, uh, we, we have a module that is talking about event based surveillance, anything that is happening at the community.

It is reported real time, online.

So for us, digital, I think it's a way to go.

And soon we've been able to train the county TOTs on the electronic information system where we are talking about digital.

So, we've been able to train at the subcounty level 252 TOTs and soon, uh, in a week's time, we'll be training the CHPs how to use..

So, we believe it is the way to go as a county.

. Marina Dalton Brown: Well, it seems that digital is the way to go.

This is a message from Teresia and many others.

Using digital tools to help us navigate the health system is a wise approach when used and applied effectively and ethically.

So, what's on the horizon for JALI and what can we look forward to from this digital tool?

Christine Odour from PSI shares final thoughts as the Head of Program Management in the Digital Health and Monitoring Department..

We are now looking to crowd in the support of other partners to ensure that the platform contains all critical health information, increase channels of access, and provide information in local languages based on the needs of the population to accommodate all citizens, and is sustained with full government ownership so as to maintain its positioning as a building block of the national health systems.

Marina Dalton Brown: Digital tools, including digital locator services, hold great promise in increasing access to health information and services in many parts of the world.

As countries invest in a collaborative approach to digital integration within the health system, there are greater chances of bridging gaps in health provision, resulting in increasing positive health outcomes.

So much thanks to my guests for sharing their perspectives and insights on how we can make it easier for people to navigate complex health systems.

To learn more about this topic, head to psi.org.

There you can read blog posts and technical briefs and watch short videos about this theme and many other topics related to health system strengthening.

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