DR. JUSTUS MAINGI SIMBA MBChB, PhD.

Dr Justus Simba is a Consultant/ Respiratory Paediatrician who attained his undergraduate (MBChB, 2007) and postgraduate (MMed [Paeds] 2014) training at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. He has undergone clinical training fellowship (2019/2020) in respiratory medicine through European Respiratory Society at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

In 2021 he completed his PhD at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya. As an academician he has participated in undergraduate and postgraduate training and currently works as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Child Health and Paediatrics, School of Medicine, JKUAT. Further, he has been an external examiner in the University of Nairobi, Moi University and the Mount Kenya University. As a clinician, he is currently attached to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, Nairobi.  He undertakes his private practice in several facilities within the wider Nairobi Metropolis.

He has special interest in evidence-based medicine more so in paediatric respiratory medicine, as well as in advancing child health in the country. He has served as a peer reviewer in several international journals including PLOSOne, BMJ Open, Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, African Health Sciences, and at the Pediatric Pulmonology, where he is now serving as an Associate Editor.Prior to becoming the Vice-Chairperson, Dr Simba has previously served as the National Treasurer. Besides KPA, he is an active member of the Respiratory Society of Kenya, PanAfrican Thoracic Society as well as the European Respiratory Society.

Dr. Syeda Ra’ana Hussain

Dr. Ra’ana is a pediatrician and neonatologist working in Nairobi . She has a vested interest in neonatology and paediatric emergency medicine as well as encouraging and promoting young researchers into the field and providing platforms for them to showcase their work.

Fred Were is Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health specializing in Newborn Medicine. He presently holds portfolios of; Dean School of Medicine University of Nairobi (UON), Acting Principal College of Health Sciences (UON), Adjunct Professor of Newborn Medicine at the Aga Khan University (East Africa) and Executive Director/Chief Researcher of The Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium a wing of the Kenya Paediatric Association.

He also provides clinical services at The Kenyatta National, Aga Khan University and Avenue Hospitals in Nairobi as lead consultant in newborn medicine.Professor Were received his undergraduate medical degree training at the University of Nairobi. He then undertook a pediatric residency at the Kenyatta National Hospital under the auspices of the University of Nairobi. Soon after qualification as a Paediatrician, he spent two years at the Monash University/Medical Centre in a fellowship program leading to graduation as a Neonatologist. The period between 2002 and 2007 saw him return to the University of Nairobi where he functioned as senior lecturer and finalized his PhD which he obtained in 2008. He is currently pursuing a post-doctorate in the area of health systems and health systems research.

Professor Were served as a National Chairman of The Kenya Paediatric Association (2002-2012) and Committee member of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine (2008-2011) among many others. He continues serving as member of the International Paediatric Association as standing committee member, International Society of Tropical Paediatrics as President, Eastern African Paediatric Association as president and Network for Education and Support in Immunisation (NESI) as Chair of the Oversight committee. He has published over 100 papers in the areas of newborn medicine and health systems. Alongside membership in the SAGE he also participates in several national and regional committees on immunizations (NITAG, TAG, Polio Certification).

In Kenya he serves as an informal advisor on immunizations to the Ministry of Health where he has been pivotal in the development of the National Immunization Policy, Health Workers’ Guide to Vaccines & Immunization. He was appointed Chair of Kenya’s National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG).

Professor Were’s research interests lie in the areas of newborn medicine (with particular emphasis on nutrition of Low Birth Weight Infants) and health systems. He is committed to promote child health advocacy displaying particular vigor in the area of increasing childhood immunization coverage and public awareness.

Njeri Wahome delights in all things administration. With over 20 years of experience in operations management in the development sector, Njeri as hands-on experience in strategic planning, financial management, human resources management, administration and logistics planning. She has experience providing technical assistance to NGOs on institutional strengthening for growth and sustainability.

Njeri currently serves as the Director of Finance & Operations at Global Programs for Research & Training an international NGO wholly owned and affiliated to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Prior to that, Njeri served as the Regional Operations Manager for Planned Parenthood Global, the international division of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) for close to 12 years.

Njeri has a bachelor’s degree in communications and English journalism from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, USA and is an MBA candidate at the United States International University Africa. In addition, Njeri has a diploma in financial management for non-finance managers from the Kenya College of Accountancy.

Thomas Ngwiri is Head Clinician at Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital since February 2010. He is also Director of the Paediatric endocrinology training centre for Africa (PETCA) – Nairobi which trains paediatricians from sub-Saharan Africa in the field of diabetes and other endocrine disorders. He has been a member of the Kenya Paediatric association executive since 2010 and is the immediate former National Chair of the association.

He has previously served on the executive committee of the Africa society for paediatric and adolescent endocrinology (ASPAE). Thomas Ngwiri has published work on diabetes mellitus in children and on developing education programs in paediatric endocrinology

Dr. Lawrence Okong’o Owino is a lecturer at the department of paediatrics and child health at the University of Nairobi. He is also a consultant paediatrician at the Kenyatta National hospital as well as a consultant paediatrician and rheumatologist for all the major hospitals in Nairobi. He is a pioneer paediatric rheumatologist. His research interests are in the field of musculoskeletal health and immunizations. He has published papers in peer reviewed journals focussing mainly on childhood rheumatic disorders.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB, 2000) degree from the University of Nairobi and Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health (MMed, 2007) from the University of Nairobi. His Subspecialty training was undertaken at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town graduating with a Master of Philosophy (MPhil.) in Paediatric Rheumatology from the University of Cape Town and fellowship certificate in Paediatric Rheumatology from the College of Medicine Societies of South Africa (CMSA) in 2015. He is currently pursuing a fellowship in Epidemiology.

His membership in professional societies include the Paediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS), Paediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization (PRINTO), the Kenya Paediatric Association (where he serves as the National Chairman), ArthRheuma Society of Kenya and Kenya Medical Association.  He is also a board member of Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium and East Africa Centre for Vaccines and Immunization (ECAVI).

MBChB (UoN), MMed (UoN) M.Phil-MCH (UCT)). Dr Osano is a Lecturer in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine, University of Nairobi, a consultant Paediatrician cardiologist at Kenyatta National Hospital. He has been the Program Coordinator for the NIH MEPI grant awarded to the University of Nairobi: Strengthening Maternal Newborn Child Health Research Training in Kenya. He has special interest in Maternal Child Health.

Dr Osano is a member of Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium (Keprecon) which is a research and projects implementation arm of Kenya Paediatric Association (KPA).

Dr. Joe Mbuthia is a graduate of the University of Oxford, with a specialty in Paediatric Infectious Diseases. He is an honorary Lecturer at the Department of Paediatrics and Child health, University of Nairobi as well as a Senior Technical Advisor to the HIV programme – Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium.

Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital and The Nairobi Hospital. He is a member of NASCOP Technical Working Group,National Polio Experts Committee (NPEC),National Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee, Pharmacovigilance Experts and Advisory Committee (PERAC) of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

He has served as the Chairman the Kenya Paediatric Association from 1996-2003 and is currently a board member of Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium.

Dr. David Githanga is an accomplished medical professional with over 37 years of clinical practice experience. He holds a fellowship of the royal college of physicians of Edinburg (2021, a PhD in Medical Immunology from the University of Nairobi. (2019), Masters in public Health from the University of London (2010), He qualified in paediatric cardiology from the Royal Hospital for sick Children in Glasgow UK (1993), A Diplomate in Child Environmental Health from Athens Greece (2005, a Master’s degree in pediatrics from the University of Nairobi (1990) having obtained his MB,chB from the same University  in 1984.  Over the years he has demonstrated leadership capability and strategic thinking that has been instrumental in spearheading the growth, development and integration of the Kenya Pediatric Association (KPA) where he served in executive positions for a total period of 19 years.

David has an excellent grasp of the policy environment and the strategic processes and protocol necessary in the development and review of policies. He has high level interaction capability as demonstrated by engagement at both national and international level fora that are geared towards contributing and shaping broader health themes. He is a key national reference point and mentor in pediatric matters with immense contribution in areas of training including designing reference materials, delivery approaches and undertaking research on topical issues as well as mentorship.

Dr. Githanga is a long-standing Rotarian and the current Polio District Officer for the last three years, a member of Kenya Immunization Technical Advisory Group and chair of the African Regional Commission for Verification of Measles Elimination. He served a s previous Quality Assurance Manager of Kenyatta National Hospital and chair of Department of Paediatrics Nairobi Hospital. He sits on the boards of Nairobi Hospital, World Vision Kenya and Sanata Children’s Home.

Dr. Doris M.W. Kinuthia is medical professional with expertise in paediatrics and adolescent medicine, nephrology and HIV. She graduated from the University of Nairobi with medical qualifications MB.Ch.B and M.Med in Paediatrics. She has Certificates in Tropical medicine and Immunology from the same University. She did her fellowship in Paediatric Nephrology at the hospital for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street, London.U.K.  She has a post graduate diploma and Master of Business Administration from Sunderland University U.K.

She was a senior lecturer in the University of Nairobi, Department of Paediatrics. Currently she is a part time senior lecture in the Department of Paediatrics, Aga Khan University Hospital. She also practices in general paediatrics and paediatric nephrology in many of the private hospitals.

She has a vast experience as a trainer and mentor in Paediatric HIV Medicine. She has worked as Senior Technical Advisor in many of the Kenya Paediatric HIV Projects funded by USAID, EGPAF, FHI, MSF, CDC Partnership of Advance Clinical Education (PACE) project through University of Maryland, Baltimore and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). She was the Principle Investigator in the Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium (Keprecon) funded by USAID through AIDSFREE HIV Project.

She has been involved in research projects at University of Nairobi, with Keprecon and Gertrude Children’s Hospital. She has supervised many dissertations for the postgraduate students in the department of pediatrics in the University of Nairobi and Aga Khan University. This has led to her writing and publishing many articles in nephrology and paediatric.

She is a Member of the Technical Working Group on HIV at National AIDS and STI’s Control Programme (NASCOP). She has worked as a consultant on NASCOP and WHO projects on training and mentoring health care workers on HIV in adolescents. She is a facilitator in the National Advanced HIV Clinical courses which is a programme runned by Department of Infectious Diseases University of Nairobi. University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA and NASCOP 

Currently she is the Vice Chairlady of Keprecon. She has held many administrative posts in Gertrude Children’s Hospital and Aga Khan University Hospital where she was recently the Chairman Medical Therapeutic Committee Gertrude Children’s Hospital. Chairlady of the Peritoneal Dialysis Division of Kenya Renal Association. She is also a Board of Director of Child Welfare Society of Kenya. She is past Chairlady of Kenya Paediatric Association and a past treasure of Kenya Renal Association.

Denish Osodo works at Safaricom Limited as the Internal Audit Director. He has wide and deep experience in Accounting and Audit with along progressive career in Assurance, Governance and Risk Services.

Prior to joining Safaricom in 2013, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for several years, offering audit and business advisory services to organizations in different industries during his stints in Kenya and United Kingdom offices. He left PwC as a Director in the Risk Assurance Services team focusing on the provision of Internal Audit and business Controls Advisory Services to clients across Africa.

Denish, is a past Vice Chairman and Council Member of the Institute of certified public accountants of Kenya. (ICPAK) and attended Strathmore and Nairobi Universities.

Dr. Makeba Shiroya Wandabwa is a Paediatrician and Public Health Specialist, with a strong health systems background having worked in various capacities to develop child health policies and guidelines, implement and monitor high impact child health interventions at the international, national, sub national and community levels. She has provided technical, strategic, evaluation and operational support for RMNCAH/HIVAIDS health programs funded by USAID, DFID, Global Fund and World Health Organization.

She is a member of the Global Child Health Taskforce which is a network of global and country-based organizations and individuals working to design and implement child health programs that take a life-course approach through collaborative partnerships with Ministries of Health Child Health Technical Working Groups.  She is a technical director with Coreqode Tech a Non-Profit Organization that seeks to empower leaders and organizations by integrating data, systems and people through an informational dashboard.  She is secretary of the Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium (Keprecon) and is passionate about working with teams to implement innovative health solutions to ensure children and families thrive. 

Dr. Mohan Lumba is a senior Consultant paediatrician and pioneer paediatrician in Kenya. He qualified as a doctor in 1969 and specialised in paediarics in 1972, he received his doctorate in Medicine-M.D. Paediatrics in 1974. He has over 50 years’ experience in the field of Paediatrics and Child Health.

He joined the University of Nairobi Medical School as a lecturer in 1975 and has been actively involved in Teaching and Training of paediatricians. He is an external examiner for both undergraduate and post graduate paediatric students at the University.

He is the Chair of the Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium (Keprecon) and he is the immediate past Chairman of the Kenya Association for Prevention of Tuberculosis and Lung disease (KAPTLD). He is also the Chairman of the National Influenza Taskforce and was the Chairman of the Typhoid Awareness and Prevention Campaign. In August 2014, He was the presiding Chairman for the 10^th International Congress of Tropical Paediatrics’ that was held in Nairobi-Kenya. He has represented Kenya Paediatric Association at various international forums in over 30 countries.

Dr. Lumba was honored by Kenya Paediatric Association (KPA) as one of the Founders of Paediatrics in Kenya and also for his Immeasurable contribution to the Development of Paediatrics in the Country. He has received National awards and recognitions and is the 1^st’Honorary Life Member’ of the Kenya Paediatric Association. He is also a trustee of the Kenya Paediatric Association.

The president of Kenya during the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Independence-Kenya @50 in year 2013 honored Dr. Lumba for services to the Country and the children of Kenya and bestowed on him the Title and Medal of “Order of the Grand Warrior”-O.G.W.  In 2018 The President further bestowed on Dr. Lumba the Title and Medal of Elder of the Burning Spear-E.B.W.

Dr. Kibore received her bachelor’s degree in medicine and her master’s degree in Pediatrics and Child Health both from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, she then went on and completed a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Washington, USA.

Dr. Kibore worked in pediatric clinical care in the public and private health sectors in Kenya before transitioning to child health research and programs. She started her research career at the University of Washington, Kenya Research Program where she coordinated the implementation of a community based medical education program for health providers for the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI). She then served as project director and co-principal investigator of a project aimed at improving maternal and neonatal outcomes in rural communities in Kenya. She was also recently awarded a grant under the USAID Evidence to Action PEER award as Principle Investigator.

Dr. Kibore has also been recognized internationally for her work in child health; in 2013 she was the recipient of the David Baum award from the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health in recognition for her contribution to child health in developing country settings. Her area of interest is in implementation research and health systems strengthening for improved maternal, neonatal and child healthcare in resource limited settings. Her work has been funded by Wellcome Trust, NIH and USAID and she is the current treasurer of Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium.

Denish Osodo works at Safaricom Limited as the Internal Audit Director. He has wide and deep experience in Assurance, Governance and Risk Services.  Prior to joining Safaricom, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for several years, offering audit and business advisory services to Companies in different industries during his stints in Kenya and United Kingdom offices. He left PwC as a Director in the Risk Assurance Services team focusing on the provision of Internal Audit and business Controls Advisory Services to clients across Africa.

Denish, a certified public accountant is also a member of the Audit Committee of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO and a member of the Council and Convener of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Nairobi and has attended several leadership and management courses.

AFFILIATIONS: Department of Paediatrics and Child health, University of Nairobi.

SPECIALTY AREA: Paediatric Rheumatology

Dr. L. Okong’o is a lecturer, department of Paediatrics, University of Nairobi (UoN). He attained his undergraduate (MBChB) and postgraduate (MMed) degrees from UoN and holds an MPhil. degree (University of Cape Town) and a fellowship certificate from the colleges of medicine of south Africa (CMSA) in Paediatric Rheumatology.

He previously served as a pediatrician in Several county hospitals in Kenya; Wau Teaching Hospital South Sudan (2011-13) and Red Cross Children’s Hospital (2013-15), Cape Town during his Paediatric Rheumatology training. He is a member of Paediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS) and the Paediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization (PRINTO).

He is passionate about promoting education for economic empowerment and serves in various school boards in Siaya county and in the board of Kenya Paediatrics Research Consortium (KEPRECON). Other than Paediatric Rheumatology, his other interests are in Vaccinology and serves in the board of East and Central Africa Vaccines Institute (ECAVI). He is the current alternate to the chairperson representing the division of Paediatrics at the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), Gertrude’s Children’s hospital.

AFFILIATIONS: Aga Khan University Nairobi, Kenya.

SPECIALTY AREA: Paediatric Rheumatology

Dr. Migowa is an Assistant Professor and Pediatric Rheumatologist in the department of Pediatrics and Child Health at Aga Khan University Nairobi, Kenya. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in Pediatric Rheumatology at McGill University Health Centre, Montreal-Canada, and holds a Masters in Paediatrics and Child Health (AKUH). Her interests include Rheumatology, Clinical Immunology, Adolescent Medicine, Leadership, and Governance. She is currently a member of the PRES global taskforce and involved in collaborations with the Kenya Pediatric Association, ArthRheuma Society of Kenya, Allergy Society of Kenya, Association of Women in Rheumatology(AWIR), African League Against Rheumatism(AFLAR), Canadian Rheumatology Association(CRA), American College of Rheumatology(ACR), European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), Medical Women’s International Association(MWIA) and Women Leaders in Global Health Movement(WLGH). She has held several lectures and conference presentations across Africa, Europe, and North America among medical students, doctors, nurses, and patient support groups to raise awareness for pediatric rheumatology and primary immunodeficiency. She has pioneered implementing the first A project in Kenya to raise awareness for primary immunodeficiencies in Africa. She previously has partnered with patient support groups such as the International Patient Organization for Primary Immunodeficiencies (IPOPI) and Rare Disease Society of Kenya to raise awareness and advocate for rheumatological and other rare diseases. She is the Chair of the steering committee mandated by the African League Against Rheumatology (AFLAR) to oversee and implement the establishment of the Pediatric Society of the African League Against Rheumatism (PAFLAR) to improve access to care and advocacy for pediatric rheumatology patients across the African continent. She is a certified RCUK EPLS Instructor.

AFFILIATIONS:

• • • Epidemiology and Demography Department, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya
    • Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
      • • Strathmore Business School, Strathmore University, Kenya

Ambrose is a paediatrician and clinical epidemiologist with broad interests in pragmatic clinical trials, childhood respiratory illnesses, and clinical guideline implementation. He currently heads the Department of Epidemiology and Demography at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme. His research has focused on studying approaches to improving the care for the hospitalised child using a range of designs including randomised controlled trials, observational studies, and systematic reviews to inform evidence-based guideline development. He is currently Principal Investigator on a multi-country clinical trial comparing alternative treatments for severe pneumonia in children. He also co-leads a multi-site implementation science project to integrate methods for high-quality routine clinical data collection through promoting quality of clinical documentation and implementation of recommended paediatric care practices in 20 hospitals in Kenya. Nationally, Ambrose serves on various Ministry of Health technical panels where he has been involved in the development of national policy and strategy documents for newborn, child and adolescent health. He is also co-chair of the WHO/UNICEF Child Health Accountability Tracking (CHAT) Technical Advisory Group – a 12-member team with global representation convened to develop a standard set of harmonised indicators for tracking the continuum of care from pregnancy to adolescence.

AFFILIATION: Medical services Nairobi City County

SPECIALTY: Medical Genetics and Genomics

Dr. Mutinda serves as a pediatrician within the Nairobi City County and the National Secretary to the Kenya Pediatrics Association board. She received her medical degree from 1st faculty of Medicine, Charles University Prague, the Czech Republic, Masters of Medicine in Pediatrics and Child Health from the University of Nairobi, and a Master of Science in Medical genetics and genomics from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

She has been involved in several operational research. She was involved in setting up the Kangaroo Mother Care and breastmilk bank under one roof at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, helping the hospital attain the prerequisites a baby-friendly hospital as envisioned by the WHO. She committed to growing the practice of genetics in Kenya.

AFFILIATIONS:  Aga Khan University Hospital

SPECIALTY AREA:  Paediatric Gastroenterologist

Waceke interests are in Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition as well as medical education. Her vision is to see the children of Kenya and Africa thrive and become instrumental members of society. This can only be achieved if they are brought up in an environment that carries out preventative as well as curative high quality services that are affordable.  She works at the Aga Khan University Hospital as a Paediatric Gastroenterologist and also Program Director for the Paediatric Residency program.

AFFILIATIONS: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Kenyatta University.

SUB-SPECIALTY AREA: Paediatric Infectious Diseases

Dr. Christine K. Chege is a Lecturer, Department of Paediatrics, Kenyatta University (KU). She attained her undergraduate (MBChB) and postgraduate (MMed) degrees from The University of Nairobi (UoN) holds a postgraduate diploma in Paediatric Infectious Diseases from The University of Oxford.

She also works as a Consultant Paediatrician and Paediatric infectious diseases specialist in various leading private hospitals in Nairobi. She is a member of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases and the Africa Regional Collaborative Learning Network that brings together Paediatric societies across Africa to share experiences on child health issues in the African setting.

Dr. Chege is passionate about Immunization advocacy and equity and is currently involved in the Immunization Advocacy Initiative project that has increasing domestic financing for immunization as its key objective. Other than Vaccinology, she has taken a leading role in the COVID 19 response, involved in writing the interim Paediatric guidance for COVID 19, as well as spearheading the KPA response to the Ministry of Education regarding return to Schools during the pandemic.

Dr. Chege is keen on educating child caregivers and other stakeholders on emerging global health issues such as antimicrobial resistance and vaccine hesitancy under the Kenya Paediatric Association’s umbrella.