Keynote Speakers
Dr. Githinji Gitahi
Group CEO, Amref Health Africa
Dr. Githinji Gitahi
Group CEO, Amref Health Africa
Dr Githinji Gitahi joined Amref Health Africa in 2015. Prior to joining Amref, he was the Vice President and Regional Director for Africa with Smile Train International. Dr Gitahi is renown as a leader on the global and regional front with notable achievements - including co-chairing the global UHC2030 movement; serving on the Commission on Africa’s COVID-19 Response; serving as a member of the Governing Board of Africa CDC and was recently appointed to the Board of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). He also serves on the Board of The Standard Group in Kenya and the Board of Trustees of Safaricom Foundation. He is a vocal advocate for pro-poor Universal Health Coverage and leads the largest thought leadership convening on the African health agenda.
H.E Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o
Governor, Kisumu County
H.E Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o
Governor, Kisumu County
Governor Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o is the current governor for Kisumu County where he has been implementing various development projects, including infrastructure development, health, and education programs. He is a respected leader who has championed social justice, democracy, and good governance in Kenya.
Prof. Nyong'o holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and has a wealth of experience in academia, public service, and advocacy. He has served as a Member of Parliament for Kisumu Rural, Minister for Planning and National Development, Minister for Medical Services, and Senator for Kisumu County.
As a minister for medical services, he reformed KEMSA from being an agency to Authority independent from political interference and getting funding directly from the treasury. He also transformed NHIF from a Hospital Fund into National Health Insurance Fund to provide universal healthcare to Kenyans. Together with Charity Ngilu in 2004, they initiated a process to provide Kenyans with universal health coverage.
Conference Speakers
Dr. Dan Kibuka Gikonyo
MB, ChB, MMED, FACC
Dr. Dan Kibuka Gikonyo
MB, ChB, MMED, FACC
Dr Gikonyo is the Chief Cardiologist and founder The Karen Hospital, Nairobi and a board member and founder of The Heart-to-Heart foundation. He was the Physician to the Third President, Republic of Kenya and a Previous lecturer, faculty of Medicine, University of Nairobi, Kenya. He was a research scholar in cardiology, Abbott-North Western Hospital and MAYO Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
His member ships include KMA, founder member Kenya Cardiac Society, East and Central Africa Association of Physicians and he is the Patron of the Kagumo High School Old boys
Dr. Joseph A Aluoch
Consultant Pulmonologist
Dr. Joseph A Aluoch
Consultant Pulmonologist
Affiliations: The Nairobi Hospital.
Qualifications: MB,ChB (EA) M.R.C.P (UK), F.R.C.P (Edin.) F.R.C.P (Glasgow) D.T.C.D (Wales) Dip Epid-(Praque/Delhi).
Dr Aluoch work history includes Deputy Director of the Communicable Diseases Division, Director National TB programme, Honorary Lecturer Department of Medicine Nairobi University, Director of the Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases Research Centre and Consultant in the Infectious Diseases Hospital Nairobi. He has served in various boards and organizations within the Government and as Chairman of various Medical Associations and Societies in Kenya.
Presently he is the Patron of Kenya Association of Physicians, the Respiratory Society of Kenya and the HIV Clinicians Society of Kenya. He is also the President of Pan African Thoracic Society and the Overseas Representative and Adviser; Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
He received an Honorary Member Award of International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in 2017.
Dr Aluoch has authored over 60 papers both local and international peer review journals. He has also authored his autobiography; In the Footsteps of My Father and a Book, Historical perspective of Fifty years of Medical Practice in Kenya.
Dr. Jacqueline Wanjiku Kagima
KNH
Dr Jacqueline Wanjiku Kagima works at the Kenyatta National Hospital in the respiratory and the medical critical care unit. She recently completed and graduated with a PhD in Clinical Sciences, at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) in the United Kingdom (UK); her PhD work used mixed methods to evaluate ultrasound diagnostics in acute lung diseases and also assessed the facilitators and barriers to point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) utility within low and middle income settings (LMICs). She is a master trainer in PoCUS, accredited by the Canadian Point of care Ultrasound Society (CPoCUS), she has trained over 70 clinicians in point of care ultrasound in local and regional forums. She was the 2022 recipient of the Job Bwayo Award for Science in Lung Health, an award given to a person who contributed immensely to the advance of scientific knowledge in lung health in Kenya at the Kenya International Lung Health Conference (KILHC).
Dr. Kanyenje Gakombe
Chairman, Kenya Healthcare Federation
Dr. Kanyenje Gakombe
Chairman, Kenya Healthcare Federation
Dr. Kanyenje Gakombe is the current Chairman of Kenya Healthcare Federation and Chief Executive Officer Metropolitan Hospital, a Director at MedSource Group Ltd, a founding member and past Vice Chair of KHF, the first healthcare governor in KEPSA, a past Member of the National Economic & Social Council (NESC) and Chairman of Kenya Association of Hospitals (KAH).
Besides being involved in advocating for health to be prioritized as part of the Big 4 Agenda, he was very instrumental in the initiation and development of the Standard Service Agreement and Claim Form between Association of Kenya Insurers, and Kenya Association of Hospitals which was adopted in October 2006. He is passionate about the enabling role of ICT in health and has been instrumental in the design and development of Hospital Information Management Software (AMS 2000) currently in use in several hospitals and E-care, the first digital catering platform in a hospital.
He is also an entrepreneur and impact investor and holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Strategic Management and a Bachelors of Medicine and Bachelors of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Nairobi
David Njuguna
PhD (c)
David Njuguna
PhD (c)
Qualification: PhD candidate in Health Systems Management; MSc. Health Economics and Policy; B.A Economics
David Njuguna, is currently a PhD candidate of Health Systems Management at Kenya Methodist University. His research thesis is looking at the gains the country will accrue and the resources that could be saved by integrating HIV/AIDS and NCDs processes using Nakuru County as the study area. He has a Master of Science in Health Economics and Policy at the University of Nairobi.
In addition, David Njuguna is a Health Financing Specialist at Future Health Economics and Metrics (F.H.E.M) Limited, a consulting firm that provides evidence for optimal health investment in the region.
He is a well-seasoned health economist with a wide range of experience in the health sector. His expertise is on health policy, health financing and costing with extensive knowledge and experience in health systems strengthening, health policy and planning in developing countries. He has offered technical assistance in many Sub-Saharan countries.
Dr. Charles Kamotho
Founder, Daktari Africa
Dr. Charles Kamotho
Founder, Daktari Africa
Dr. Charles Kamotho is an experienced Consultant Physician and the Founder of Daktari Africa. He has training experience in Kenya and from across the globe including at the National Cardiovascular Centre in Osaka, Japan.
He has been an official of both the Kenya Association of Physicians and the Kenya Cardiac Society, he is a Founder Fellow of the East Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP), and is a member of the World Heart Federation Prof. Salim Yusuf Emerging Leaders.
Dr. Kamotho previously worked at the Thika District Hospital, from where he pioneered both ECG and Echocardiographys services in the County. He is a Director of The International Clinic and the Founder and CEO of Daktari Africa, the premier telemedicine platform in Kenya and the Region, and which has won multiple awards both locally and abroad. Daktari Africa harnesses technology to make quality healthcare convenient and accessible to all.
A winner of the Business Excellence Award from Houston, Texas, Dr Kamotho has been invited to speak at the recent Regional NCD conference in Kigali, Rwanda, and at the World Heart Summit in Geneva, Switzerland last year. Dr Kamotho has published his work on digital health in peer reviewed journals including the European Heart Journal, and his paper there was cited in The Lancet.
Prof Lukoye Atwoli M.B.S.
Professor
Prof Lukoye Atwoli M.B.S.
Professor
Lukoye Atwoli is a Professor of Psychiatry and the Dean of the Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa. He is also the Associate Director of the Brain and Mind Institute at AKU. He practices psychiatry at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi. Prof Atwoli is an Honorary Professor in the department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town, and collaborates with colleagues all over the world in research and teaching in psychiatry and mental health.
Prof Atwoli is widely published, and his current research interests are centered on trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder and the genetics of mental disorders.
Prof Atwoli is the President of the African College of Neuropsychopharmacology (AfCNP), and Secretary-General of the African Association of Psychiatrists (AAP). He is the Chairperson of the Board of the Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital, the only specialized mental health care facility in Kenya, and co-chairs the Board on Global Health of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. He is an International Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (IFAPA), and holds one of the highest national honours in Kenya, the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (M.B.S.).
Dr Diana Ondieki, MD PhD
Consultant Obstetrician Gynaecologist & Fertility Specialist
Dr Diana Ondieki, MD PhD
Consultant Obstetrician Gynaecologist & Fertility Specialist
Dr Diana Ondieki, MD PhD
MBChB (UoN), MMed Obs/Gyn (UoN), MSc Epidemiology (LSHTM), PhD (UoN)
PGD SRM (UK-USW), PGD Ultrasound (UoN), PGD SRHR (Sweden-LU), PGD MAS (India), Dip IMIS (Strathmore)
Dr Elizabeth Onyango
Public Health Specialist
Dr Elizabeth Onyango
Public Health Specialist
Dr Elizabeth Onyango is a Public Health Specialist with over 23 years experience working with the public service at sub national and national levels. She holds a Master of Public Health, Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management), and Bachelor of Dental Surgery, all from the University of Nairobi.
Dr Onyango is the current Head of the Division of Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health Kenya. She oversees the following units: Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes, Sickle Cell Disease, Haemophilia, Renal Disease and Rare Disorders. She chairs the National NCD Supply Chain Technical Working Group. She is a member of the Kenya NCDI Poverty Commission.
Her passion is in health system strengthening to address access to care.
She is married with 2 children. Dr Onyango loves reading, cooking, watching series.
Hon. Dr James Nyikal
MP Seme
Hon. Dr James Nyikal
MP Seme
Hon. Dr James Nyikal is a Kenyan politician and a current Member of Parliament as well as a member of the health commission and of its finance commission. James Nyikal is a Pediatrician and neonatologist by profession. He obtained his MBChB and MMed Paediatrics from the University of Nairobi. He trained in New Born Medicine at Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne Australia.
Hon Dr Nyikal worked as a pediatrician and neonatologist as well as a Lecturer in Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Nairobi. His other posts have included Director of Medical Services, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation as well as in the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development. He has been a Chairperson of Kenya Medical Association and an Executive Board Member of World Health Organization. From 2013 to date he has been the Member of Parliament for Seme Constituency.
Hon Dr Nyikal is married and has five children
Dr. Frank Njenga -FRCPsych
Fellow Emeritus of The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr. Frank Njenga -FRCPsych
Fellow Emeritus of The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr. Njenga is a Fellow Emeritus of The Royal College of Psychiatrists. He graduated at the University of Nairobi in 1975. He obtained the Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1980, after training at the Maudsley Hospital in London. He was subsequently elected Fellow of the College.
He taught at the University of Nairobi before venturing into full time private practice in 1983. He was the first full time Psychiatrist in private. Through the media, public lectures as well as talks to professional bodies and schools, he was, for a long time the public face of mental health in Kenya.
Most recently he was the Chairman of the National Taskforce on Mental health and was for the last few years the Presidential Advisor on mental health in Kenya. In public life, he served as Chairman NACADA, and was founder Chairman of AAPAP. (Association of African Psychiatrists and Allied Professions). He is the founder and Chairman of The Chiromo Group of Hospitals.
Over the years, he has led the campaign against stigma of mental health using among other methods, the mass media. His T.V series, (Frankly Speaking) broke the silence over mental health issues and led Kenyans to embrace the message that mental illness is common and treatable.
He is the author of several books, including a textbook of psychiatry, numerous scientific publications as well as a long running weekly column in the Business Daily.
