One of the biggest challenges to addressing the management of NCDs is the fact that frontline health workers often lack sufficient and up to date skills to provide specialist care to patients.

CDMS has signed a partnership with Project ECHOⓇ (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), a collaborative tele-education platform that aims to build workforce capacity in rural and underserved communities, to launch the “Tele education for Clinicians and Leaders in Africa” (TeCLA) program. The program uses online lectures, case-based learning, sharing of best practices, access to peer networks and global resource libraries to drive shared learning across Kenya and other African countries to enhance clinical skills, confidence and the knowledge to provide specialist care to patients.

Our development of project TeCLA was done in collaboration with a consortium comprising of Making More Health (MMH), mDoc Healthcare, and Jacaranda Maternity. The primary target for the TeCLA program in Kenya is our partner, the Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA), a society of privately-owned medical centers, outpatient centers, ambulatory care centers, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, diagnostic centers and hospitals with coverage within the 47 counties in Kenya.

All sessions are free and are structured as follows:

• A 90-minute period comprising of a lecture, case study and quiz to test knowledge gain; as well as time for questions and answers
• The lectures are conducted by a diverse panel of specialist subject matter experts.

Participants receive copies of both the lecture slides and videos

Health Workers’ Regulatory Bodies

In order to ensure that there is widespread enrolment for the TeCLA trainings, CDMS is registering with the different health workers’ regulatory bodies – the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Doctors Council (KMPDC); the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK), the Clinical Officers’ Council (COC), as a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) provider. The eligibility for CPD credits is a key value to learners, who must earn certain minimum numbers to qualify for annual practice licences. TeCLA will be advertised on the council websites and session details heavily promoted in membership networks.

Health workers’ Associations

In addition to the regulatory bodies, TeCLA will engage and work with health workers’ associations such as the Kenya Medical Association (KMA), The Kenya Clinical Officers Association (KCOA) and the National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK) as aggregators, to enable the capacity building to benefit their members.