Meet our team member from Kenya — Jack Ndegwa

My path into global health advocacy began in 2009 when I began working with a nationwide network of people who use drugs in Kathmandu, Nepal. Though I had prior experience working in governance and development, my time in Kathmandu served as a springboard for my work with ACTION at KANCO.

When I first joined KANCO in 2011, my primary focus was on vaccines advocacy. The overall objective was advocacy influence policy to reduce the burden of vaccine-preventable illnesses and deaths in Kenya.

While I continue to focus on vaccines, geographical scope has expanded beyond Kenya to regional and global levels. In terms of policy and governance, the scope has also been broadened to include Child health, COVAX and the GFF, GAVI, among others.

I had the privilege of working on ACTION’s TB and nutrition advocacy during 2014 and 2015. As such, my ACTION experiences have been well-rounded. ACTION-related work on advocacy, national engagement, and impacting global health policy has been an exciting experience for over a decade.

A few thoughts come to me as I reflect on this experience. To begin with, ACTION’s approach to health and development is filled with innovation, change, and doing what works! This is especially evident in its expansion strategy, both geographically and on issues.

Policy shaping, replenishment roles, and contributions to the Global Fund, GAVI, World Bank, and other institutions have left positive marks. The upcoming COVAX replenishment is another moment where ACTION can have a positive impact.

In Kenya, support for policy change, resource mobilization, and creating political will to fund, scale-up, and sustain healthcare programs have all left enduring imprints.

In Africa, I’ve seen ACTION partnership pursue empowerment, collaboration, and partnerships that have helped build capacities for policy advocacy, champions development, and grassroot engagement with civil society organizations, and people (champions), to find health solutions that improve lives every day.

Seeing people as the greatest significant resource, the partnership has established collective commitment as the hallmark of its identity, via a culture of regular conversations, cooperation, and common ownership of achievements.

Moving ahead in the context of Africa, ACTION work is very critical. Complex health concerns such as chronic and infectious diseases, food insecurity, health care quality and costs, climate change, and the health impact of socioeconomic inequality continue to abound.

The COVID-19 epidemic continues with remarkably low vaccination rates. Thus, our work on influencing policy, intervention strategies, and communication will continue to assist in tackling these difficulties and exploring novel, long-term solutions to enhance community health especially in this decade.