Our work is anchored on a three-pronged approach , operating as a civil society organisation, research institution, and global health think tank.
Civil Society Organization
As a civil society, we work with communities through a people-centered model. Our work is anchored on bidirectional learning and co-creation of interventions with the target communities to ensure prioritization of the community’s needs while delivering feasible and sustainable interventions. We intentionally avoid a “savior-based” approach in the interventions we implement. Our programs have a self-determination centrality that recognizes communities’ strengths and capabilities in making a change, not just as victims of circumstances.
Research Institute
All our programs are anchored in implementation science and are evidence-based. Our work seeks to recalibrate global health research in the infectious diseases space by deconstructing existing power hierarchies and hegemonic discourses in knowledge development and addressing epistemic injustices in evidence generation and dissemination.
Our research aims to appreciate and recognize Indigenous and tacit knowledge, challenge existing hierarchies in research designs, and explore alternative/complimenting research funding models to weaken inequitable power dynamics in the global health field. We are exploring models and frameworks that incorporate communities in the entire spectrum of research right from research designs, evidence dissemination, and formulation of policies from evidence generated. By doing so, we hope to shift the narrative and existing perceptions in global health research where communities are seen as “sources of data” to research models that recognize communities as “key beneficiaries and custodians of data.”
Think Tank
As a think tank, our work focuses on developing innovative operational models, knowledge development and translation, reshaping health strategies in infectious diseases, influencing decision-making, and deconstructing inequitable discourses within the global health space.
Through the novel research performed at the organization, our work focuses on designing high-quality publications and research briefs aimed at influencing health policies and global health agendas, especially in the infectious diseases space. We utilize existing evidence to advocate for better and more effective health policies and support consensus-building on critical issues among different stakeholders. Our knowledge dissemination and translation enable this in thematic areas, where we are committed to open-access knowledge development.
Our interventions are based in Kenya and will serve as centers of excellence. To promote scale-up, replication, and adaptation to other contexts in low—and middle-income countries, we will develop comprehensive guides that acknowledge cultural and systemic contexts within these settings and provide a pathway for integrating related interventions in other countries/settings.
