Digital Adherence Technologies for TB Treatment at the Africa Digital Health Summit 2024

 

Digital Transformation of health systems, what, why, and how?

We are thrilled to announce our participation in the upcoming Africa Digital Health Summit 2024, scheduled for June 27-28 in Lagos, Nigeria. The Africa Digital Health Summit constitutes an event that unites key players in the health sector, offering a platform for innovators, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers, regulators, policymakers, and development partners to exchange knowledge and experiences in digital health across the African region.

There is a growing consensus in the global health community that the strategic and innovative use of digital technology will be a key factor in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This is in recognition of the fact that information and communications technology bring new opportunities for reaching the health related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For this event, our focus will be on “Digital Support for Medication Adherence: A Use Case from Tuberculosis Treatment”, reflecting our ongoing commitment to supporting tuberculosis (TB) treatment adherence through innovative digital tools. 

 

Empowering people with TB through Digital Adherence Technologies (DATs)

As the global health community rolls out new TB regimens, the need for effective adherence support is paramount. Digital Adherence Technologies (DATs) have emerged as a supportive tool in this endeavor, helping people with TB complete their treatment and reducing the chances of drug resistance. DATs utilize mobile phones, web-based applications and electronic sensors to capture detailed, daily adherence information that is specific to the person on treatment. These technologies include medication sleeves/labels, smart pill boxes, and video-supported treatment (VST), offering a modern, person-centered approach to TB treatment.

At the Africa Digital Health Summit 2024, we will host a comprehensive workshop dedicated to explore the benefits, features and implementation of DATs to support TB treatment. Our session will cover:

      • The foundational framework for digital adherence technology interventions.
      • An overview of various adherence technologies and their suitability for different groups.
      • The advantages of digital mediums in supporting medication adherence.
      • Practical planning frameworks for implementing DATs for TB and other diseases.
      • Tailored approaches to address context-specific challenges in different countries. 

 Our workshop will also feature insightful country experiences from Uganda, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, highlighting their successful implementations of VST, smart pill boxes, and medication labels, respectively. These country experiences will provide valuable lessons and best practices for participants looking to adopt similar technologies in their healthcare systems. 

 Country experts

David Asiimwe

David currently supports the National TB and Leprosy Program, Kampala Uganda as a National Coordinator in DATs.

As a Digital Specialist, David specializes in DATs and has 8+ years of experience working with the health sector, designing tools, implementing, training and mentoring, capacity building of health care providers.

Iboro Gordon

Iboro served as the Project Coordinator for KNCV Nigeria’s pilot DATs project from 2021 to 2022 and has also coordinated several other projects for KNCV Nigeria.

Iboro has nearly a decade of experience in programming for public health interventions in USAID, JSI, Stop TB Partnership and UNFPA funded projects in Nigeria.

Tofik Abduhrman

Tofik is the current Deputy Project Manager for Digital Health Solutions at KNCV TB Plus Ethiopia. Tofik’s experience in Ethiopia reflects on the implementation of ASCENT (Adherence Support Collation to End TB) project led by KNCV TB Plus.

Tofik counts with 15+ years of experience serving as a leader to implement Digital Health Technologies, ICT Management, System Administration and System Support.