Kenyan Staffer Visits New Windsor

New Windsor – "The health worker is key to everything else in health," says Doris Mwarey, IMA's Regional Human Resources Specialist under the IntraHealth International led CapacityPlus project.

Doris visited the New Windsor office late in August for consultative discussions and for an introduction to IMA staff. During her visit to the United States, Doris spent three days at the IntraHealth International office in Washington DC accompanied by Program Officer, Erika Pearl.

Doris works in Nairobi, Kenya to help the faith-based health provision umbrella networks across the Africa continent improve recruitment and retention of staff at the national and local levels.

On behalf of the Africa Christian Health Associations (ACHA) Platform she travels extensively in Africa, seeking new strategies and solutions to prevent the best minds in faith-based health facilities migrating away from the places which most need their expertise.

On a recent trip to Zambia, she looked closely into the details of employer agreements in faith-based facilities. In Malawi, health facilities have been involved in exchange visits with Kenya resulting in strategies to improve worker retention.
As a Kenyan, she foresees a day when the faith-based health sector may have greater public acknowledgment. "The faith-based organizations have been playing a large role in providing healthcare but haven't been receiving recognition; through the Platform, this can be improved in the future."