Population Services Kenya

The Elevate Prize funding will be used to advance and replicate a remote capacity building solution -  WhatsApp powered by chatbot technology that was effectively used to deliver a Ministry of Health certified Covid-19 course to about 1,900 health care workers in the private sector. The course has 12 modules with assessments at the end of each module. The uniqueness of this model is the flexibility; a health care worker can pursue the course at any time at their own pace. In Kenya, there are some challenges regarding slow uptake of the vaccine amidst myths and misconceptions. If won, the prize will be used to develop additional modules that will address knowledge gaps to enhance acceptability and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines across the health workforce and targeted vulnerable populations.

Prior to the pandemic, PS Kenya utilization of in-person trainings for healthcare workers was the norm. Amidst meeting restrictions, there was need to recalibrate our models of delivery. It has become necessary to have innovative adaptations that can ensure continued capacity building of healthcare workers while keeping current public health safety guidelines. This model is a game changer in the health system, is cost effective, scalable and replicable across health areas.

PS Kenya is a leader in customizing  health solutions!  We have sharpened our expertise in Social Marketing, Social & Behaviour Change Communication and Social Franchising.  Our vision is to be the leader in strengthening health markets, empowering Kenyans to make healthy choices while the mission is to improve the health of Kenyans by promoting functional and sustainable systems and increasing access to quality health solutions. The organization has 31 years’ experience in complementing the efforts of the Ministry of Health to improve the lives  of Kenyans by developing innovative solutions to address key public health priorities. PS Kenya uses three distinct approaches to fill the gaps in the health system:  

1) Through direct implementation and thereby operating as health systems actor  

2) Through promoting adaptable, sustainable and wholesome changes within the health system and as such operating as a health systems facilitator.

3) Working with and through others to enhance access to quality products and services.

PS Kenya has expertise in supporting private and public providers across health facilities and stand-alone pharmacies. The organization has a footprint in all 47 counties in Kenya and have  embraced technology to enhance efficiencies and effectiveness of its work.

Health-Systems Cahllenges

Approximately 47% of Kenyans seek for healthcare services from the private sector. The sector is fragmented and faces several challenges in the provision of healthcare services,  two of the most critical being inadequate skills to offer quality essential services and inadequate knowledge to enable proper counselling / education to their patients. This is detrimental to the populations they serve and contributes to increasing the risk of preventable deaths.

Cost of upskilling  health providers using classroom models is resource intensive leading to a skills gap across the health workforce - very dangerous.

Kenya experienced a COVID-19 surge in April 2021 with average positivity-rate rising 20%. The confirmed cases and deaths were 157,492 and 2,665 respectively as of April 27th, 2021.  There exists concerns, myths and misconceptions regarding the safety of the vaccines resulting to low-uptake  and acceptablity amongst the healthcare workers and the targeted vulnerable groups.  

PS Kenya's focus is to serve ‘Sara’ (our target audience), who predominantly seeks health solutions from private and public health facilities in her neighbourhood. Over 3.5m people receive services from PS Kenya’s network of private health facilities annually. We will train health providers on the safety of the vaccines to increase acceptability.

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Cost Effectiveness: The WhatsApp e-learning approach presents a cost-effective model in comparison to in-person training where it costs $65 per person to train 1,000 providers as compared to $300 per person for a similar number using the classroom model. The cost of training each additional provider reduces to approximately $7 for the next 1,000 providers using the  WhatsApp platform as the set-up costs are a one-off.

Levarging on familiar envoronment: Internet penetration in Kenya is approximately 87%, with two-thirds connecting through smartphones. 90% of mobile internet users have WhatsApp including  private health providers hence the platform becoming an appropriate channel to deliver any health area  remote capacity-building. The providers  learn at their own pace, interact with audio, visuals and online links.  The solution enables effective and continuous upskilling of the health workforce which is crucial  to the health system even in times of COVID-19.

Covid Adaptation:This solution responds to COVID-19 preventive guidelines. It is a ‘click and learn’ wherever the learner is and provides dashboards to show performance. It is Certified by MoH.

Futuristic and sustainable: The innovation is easily scalable to reach many health providers and can be replicated across health areas and other sectors

PS Kenya focusses on supporting the Ministry of Health to address the most serious health challenges affecting resource poor and vulnerable communities in Kenya. Our work is aligned to the government objective to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and SDG 3; Healthy Lives and Wellbeing for all. PS Kenya comes up with interventions that are informed by research and evidence in the health areas of interest. Before carrying out any intervention, the organization seeks to understand the gap in order to effectively fix the challenge that exists and avoid duplication or re-inventing the wheel.  A co-creation on  potential solutions is done in conjunction with the target audience to ensure success of the intervention.  Goals, objectives, key outcomes, key outputs, key activities, Implementation and monitoring plans for each project are drawn and progress tracked on a monthly basis. PS Kenya embraces adaptive implementation approach where it continuously uses the lessons learnt to change strategies  on a timely basis.  Risk plans are also a critical part of any project to enable us to mitigate any barriers that could lead to the organization not achieving their goals. Documentation of project learnings is an integral part of all projects.