SPECIAL SESSION: Amref Health Africa: Lasting Health Change in Africa

Description/Overview: This session will describe in detail a program delivered by Amref Health Africa (Amref Flying Doctors in The Netherlands) and supported by The Elsevier Foundation. Both organizations share the passion to support nurses to do their, often challenging, job. We both do this by providing them with knowledge and skills. Amref Health Africa, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK), Rutgers, and nurse training institutions has been implementing a mobile learning initiative to support the professional development of health providers. Dubbed “Jibu”, a Kiswahili word meaning “answer”, the initiative seeks to overcome barriers in accessing current, relevant and credible information to support learning and practice for nurses and midwives in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Health information delivery is granted through the use of a mobile application with on/offline capability. Since its inception in 2013, over 10,000 nurses and midwives in the three countries have been enrolled onto the application, signaling the timeliness of this much needed service among the health workers. With our mobile learning platform JIBU Amref Health Africa will provide training and education to nurses, where they need it, when they need it. JIBU has been tested in three African countries with remarkable results. We are eager to take it to the next level with more and better content. About Amref Health Amref Health Africa is an international African organization founded and headquartered in Kenya. Amref Health Africa began in 1957 as the Flying Doctors of East Africa to provide critical medical assistance to remote communities in East Africa. Today, Amref Health Africa works with the most vulnerable African communities through its country programs in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, and its Southern and West African regional hubs based in South Africa and Senegal, respectively. Through its laboratory, clinical outreach and training programs, Amref Health Africa reaches an additional 30 or more countries in Africa. With over half a century of experience in delivering healthcare and building health systems in Africa, Amref Health Africa supports those at the heart of communities, particularly women and children, to bring about lasting health change. About The Elsevier Foundation About the Elsevier Foundation The Elsevier Foundation provides grants to institutions around the world, with a focus on support for the world’s libraries and for scholars in the early stages of their careers. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than 80 grants worth millions of dollars to non-profit organizations working in these fields. Through gift-matching, the Foundation also supports the efforts of Elsevier employees to play a positive role in their local and global communities. The Elsevier Foundation is funded by Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services.