Partnership for Education of Health Professionals

Project Period

April 2025 - April 2025

Background

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), particularly Cardiometabolic Diseases (CMDs), are a growing global health crisis, with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and related conditions being the leading causes of death worldwide. In Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) like Kenya, the burden is particularly high, with NCDs accounting for 41% of all deaths annually. This rising prevalence coincides with fragile health systems that are ill-equipped to handle the growing demand for prevention and care. Limited healthcare workforce capacity, inequitable distribution of health professionals, and financial barriers to healthcare access exacerbate the situation, placing a heavy socio-economic burden on vulnerable populations. Recognizing this challenge, the Government of Kenya has prioritized NCD prevention and control through national health policies and strategic plans, yet significant gaps remain in health workforce capacity.

The Partnership for Education of Health Professionals (PEP) aims to strengthen the healthcare system’s ability to address CMDs by enhancing health workforce education and capacity. PEP focuses on two key areas: building institutional capacity for training health professionals and promoting research on healthcare provision for vulnerable populations. A core strategy involves fostering partnerships and networks to share knowledge and scale innovative approaches to capacity building. By addressing the human resources for health (HRH) challenge from a systems perspective, PEP seeks to ensure equitable access to quality CMD prevention and care, ultimately improving health outcomes in Kenya and other LMICs.

Specific Objectives

  1. To build institutional capacity for the education of health professionals
  2. To promote educational and implementation research on health professionals serving people in vulnerable positions; and 
  3. To develop partnership network for knowledge sharing and scaling of innovative approaches to institutional capacity building 

Expected outcomes

  1. More health professionals are adequately skilled to meet the needs of people in vulnerable positions
  2. Health education institutions in rural areas are strengthened to provide training on CMD management and integrate research in practice
  3. Education and/or health implementation research is increasingly used to inform policy making
  4. Collaborations and sustainable networks between institutions and research facilities are improved

Duration

2024 – 2025 (2 Years) 

Team

Hesborn Wao – Principal Investigator

Jarim Oduor – Project Coordinator

Benard Ondiek – Virtual Learning Academy Coordinator

Margaret Nampijja – Research Scientist

Kevin Kiiru – Project Accountant

Diana Awuor – Program Administrator

Topistar Karani – Communications Officer

Funding

Novo Nordisk Foundation

Partners

The PEP project is a co-creation of local partners and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Partners include: 

  • Kenya Ministry of Health
  • African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
  • Amref Health Africa (Amref)
  • Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance Kenya (NCDAK)
  • Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK)
  • Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC)