The Ministry of Health is moving to strengthen how Kenya tracks pregnant women, newborns and children through a new artificial intelligence-powered system being developed under Taifa Care.
The system is expected to bring together information on pregnancy, childbirth, newborn care and child health, giving health officials a clearer picture of what is happening from pregnancy through early childhood.
The plans were revealed in tender documents issued by the Digital Health Agency (DHA) on Tuesday, August 25, as the agency advertised seven tenders to support the development and expansion of the Taifa Care digital health platform.
According to the documents, the agency is seeking to establish an AI-driven digital health platform covering Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH).
One of the proposed systems will bring together modules covering antenatal care, delivery, postnatal care and family planning.
It will also include systems for tracking childhood immunisation, adolescent health services, emergency obstetric care and maternal deaths.
The information is expected to feed into the existing Taifa Care platform, allowing health authorities to follow key health indicators and identify gaps that may require intervention.
System to Link Birth and Death Records
The Digital Health Agency is also planning an AI-enabled national blood bank management system alongside tools to improve the quality of information held in the Taifa Care database.
Another proposed system will combine birth and death notifications with disease surveillance information and link the data to civil registration services.
The agency is also seeking consultants to support the implementation of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) guides within Taifa Care and the Health Information Exchange.
FHIR is a digital interoperability standard that makes possible the exchange of data between various health information systems.
This move comes amid a period in which Kenya continues to grapple with issues relating to maternal and child health.
According to data provided by the National Council for Population and Development, maternal mortality ratio in Kenya currently sits at 355 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births and nearly 5,000 maternal deaths annually due to maternal and childbirth complications.
Other contributory factors to maternal deaths include postpartum haemorrhages, obstructed labour, and eclampsia.
The maternal mortality ratio in Kenya still lies considerably high above the target of 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births as per the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
CHPs to Get Digital Devices
This digital technology has been developed just after President William Ruto directed the Ministry of Health to provide tools that can help CHPS collect and transfer health information in their communities.
It is estimated that the government will give smartphones to around 107,000 CHPS along with solar-powered phone chargers, first aid kits, blood pressure machines, MUAC tape for assessment of malnutrition and weighing scales.
The provision of such devices will ensure that community health workers can attend to the health challenges in the communities in addition to making sure that information coming from the ground is transferred to the health system faster.
Some of these devices were given out during the recent Kenya Health Summit, which took place at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, and the rest of the CHPS will receive the kits when the procurement process is complete.
If successfully implemented, the new Taifa Care will give the government a more connected way of following maternal and child health data, from antenatal visits and delivery to immunisation and the health of children as they grow.
