We are a non-profit organization committed to fostering research in human health and promoting best practices in the provision of healthcare in Africa. We are involved in initiatives to inculcate a research culture among scientists and healthcare workers. When research questions are asked, we are keen to help in figuring out the best way to statistically interrogate the answers; when the answers are appropriate, we would like to enhance access to appropriate evidence and promote liaison amongst various stakeholders to facilitate effective healthcare practices. And when we have enough experience borne out of these practices, we would like to ask more questions to seek excellence. That is what we are all about; enhancing human health research and promoting best practices in the provision of healthcare in Africa

We are unique.

By working in complementary areas of healthcare – delivery of services, health technology, and research – we focus our programs on sustainable solutions that tackle the root causes of issues affecting the availability and effectiveness of healthcare services in Kenya. We believe that by developing complementary solutions, we can build a sustainable, evidence-based health system that harnesses the strengths of communities and uses locally appropriate health technologies to support the provision of care.

Ubuntu-Afya Model

We use an innovative model called the “Ubuntu-Afya Kiosk Model”. Core to the Ubuntu-Afya model is the engagement of target communities, organized into self help groups (SHGs), to set-up, co-own, and co-operate the medical centers. This community co-ownership approach promotes social responsibility and leverages community contributions like land, physical infrastructure, and managerial oversight; fosters market loyalty; and enables us to better navigate socio-political challenges. The kiosks also incorporate community savings and credit schemes run by the SHGs, enabling community members to access financial services while earning interest revenue that helps to cross-subsidize the cost of health care services.

We run a network of 25 primary health centers: Ubuntu-Afya Kiosks, in poor rural and peri-urban communities across Kenya where there is a dearth of public and private health care options. These kiosks correspond to level-2 and level-3 healthcare facilities in the health system hierarchy and uniquely provide NCD care services alongside RMNCH, infectious disease, and HIV testing and treatment services (Primary Health Care Systems: WHO 2017).