Dr Mercy Wanjala, a family medicine doctor based in Kenya, she is currently an executive member of AfroPHC. She runs a monthly workshop with AfroPHC focusing on health policy. Mercy is also the education lead on the Rural WONCA executive and Rural Seeds Ambassador for Africa and member of the executive of the YDM AfriWON.
Overview of episode:
01.00 Mercy’s journey into rural health
03.45 Developing services at a rural health centre in Kenya
09.10 What were the steps towards making changes?
11.20 Who were your allies for change?
15.00 Balancing clinical roles and administrative roles
16.50 Health services that were being provided
22.10 Emergency services
23.50 The community
26.20 Mercy’s onward career journey
27.45 What she learned about family medicine in Cuba
30.45 AfroPHC activities and developing Primary Care Networks in Kenya
36.20 What are the big challenges for rural communities?
40.30 Effects of climate change
44.45 Opportunities for primary care in Africa
48.15 Upcoming events
Key messages:
Seeing that you can make a difference in rural areas.
Deciding to change how care is provided and taking the steps towards this.
Collecting data is an important part of advocating for change.
Assess what the community needs.
Generating a sense of teamwork and community.
Supporting long term staff is important, they have often been left on their own without more senior medical support.
Map out who are the stakeholders, who are your allies, who do you need to bring on board, what are their pain points and how can you help.
A family doctor is embedded in the community and takes care of people cradle to grave.
Policymakers do not know what is happening on the ground as well as frontline healthcare workers.
Changing the attitudes towards rural communities and the care they need is vital to improving services.
To attract healthcare workers we need to improve basic infrastructure in rural communities.
The critical issue of education for being able to participate in policy changes and community empowerment.
Climate change and its effects on communities including mental health issues and poverty.
“Demographic dividend” in Africa and the opportunity to build primary healthcare teams.
Focusing on prevention and promotion to have a healthier population. Treating disease is expensive.
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