KENYA – Kenya has hosted the inaugural health conference on health promotion at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital (KUTRRH) organized by Kenyatta University and Ministry of Health under the theme “Optimizing African Multi-Disciplinary Cancer Care”.
The inaugural health event entitled “International Conference on Promoting Health to Accelerate Action on Sustainable Development Goals” was conducted both physically and virtually in an effort to explore the role of health promotion in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and other related infections.
The conference focused on five key subthemes including state of the art diagnostics, therapeutics and interventions, patient empowerment, survivorship and advocacy, prevention, screening and early detection, research and innovation in the East African landscape and strengthening medical health systems and policies.
KUTRRH is an established National Referral Hospital equipped with state-of-the-art medial amenities. It is well endowed to offer Oncology, Molecular Imaging, Trauma & Orthopedics, Renal, Specialised Clinics, Maternity & Paediatrics, Critical Care, Accident & Emergency and other health services
The first annual health conference held at the KUTRRH TRI Auditorium from 5th – 6th July 2022 to brought together health professionals, senior government officials, local and international exhibitors and industry leaders in cancer management & research.
Moreover, the event was open to healthcare stakeholders, Ministry of Health and Counties’ representatives, representatives from professional bodies, medical professionals, researchers and innovators and healthcare students from universities.
Chairperson of the KUTRRH Annual Health Conference 2022 Dr. Tracy Irura expressed that the conference takes a collaborative approach to cancer care with participation from public sector, industry and academia, adding that the approach aims to bring a real impact for the African health sector.
The conference provided a unique platform for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the use of health promotion for disease prevention and management.
The Ministry of Health noted that health promotion actions have a central role to play in empowering communities and individuals in adopting effective responses and managing the psychosocial impacts of the multi-layered consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health promotion response to COVID 19 and other future pandemics can be realized through empowerment and public health management, equity as well as strengthening health promoting school, mental health and psycho-social support,
Health promotion response to pandemics also involves medical approaches, health education and literacy, dealing with misinformation, community empowerment, improving preventive behavior, translating measures to practice and enhancing health promoting schools and hospitals.
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