EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY EAST AFRICAN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION (EASTECO) University of Rwanda Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Engineering and E-Health THE SECOND EAC REGIONAL E-HEALTH & TELEMEDICINE WORKSHOP, MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE AND TRADE EXHIBITION (Kigali, Rwanda, 15-18 May 2018) ----------------- Harnessing Science, Technology and Innovation to Transform Healthcare Delivery and Accelerate Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in East Africa CONCEPT NOTE 1.0 Preamble The EAC Partner States have received financial support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) towards the establishment of the following four (4) Multi-National East African Community Regional Centres of Excellence (CoE) for Skills and Tertiary Education in Higher Medical and Health Sciences Education, Research and Health Services Program in the EAC Partner States: a) Republic of Kenya - East African Kidney Institute b) United Republic of Tanzania - East African Heart Institute c) Republic of Uganda - East African Oncology Institute d) Republic of Rwanda - East African Centre of Excellence on e- Health, Biomedical Engineering and Health Rehabilitation Sciences. A fifth EAC Regional Center of Excellence, namely the East African Community Regional Nutritional Sciences Institute (EACNSI) is expected to be established in the Republic of Burundi in Phase 2 of the programme. In accordance with the recent policy directives of the 12 th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health which was held at the EAC headquarters on 22 nd June 2016, the first regional meeting on the operationalization of the Multi-National EAC Regional Centers of Excellence (CoE) for skills and tertiary education in higher medical and health sciences education was held at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania from 25 th to 28 th July 2016.
According to the EAC regional integration component of the Multinational East African Community Regional Centres of Excellence for Skills and Tertiary Education in Higher Medical and Health Sciences Education, Health Services and Research Program that is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), each of the EAC Regional Centres of Excellence is expected to convene and host at least one (1) EAC regional knowledge sharing forum in Biomedical sciences per year from 2015 to 2019 and this includes e-health and Telemedicine that will be held by the EAC Centre of excellence on Biomedical Engineering and e-health of the University of Rwanda. 1.1. Operationalization of the Regional Component II: The Higher Education Centers of Excellence in Medical and Health Sciences studies and skills are being developed to provide opportunity to EAC Partner States to harness their comparative advantage in biomedical skills and knowledge development. The project will support the EAC secretariat to coordinate the project and relevantly report to the African Development Bank (AfDB), the EAC Partner States and other stakeholders. Among the activities to be coordinated by the EAC secretariat are the organization of Thematic Annual Meetings and surveys on labor market on the health sector in the region as well as development of the register for Non Communicable Diseases in the EAC. Among the envisaged activities include addressing the challenge of reliable data for planning for bio-medical education and training in the region. The EAC Secretariat, Inter-University Council for East Africa and Commissions and Council for Higher Education are expected to develop recruitment criteria for postgraduate students in the biomedical sciences. Consequently, labor and faculty mobility, networking among the Centers of excellence coupled with benchmarking aspects of the Centers of Excellence will inform harmonization of service delivery and quality legislation in the medium term. The EAC Partner States are expected to benefit from the centers by providing the necessary faculty and other staff to the centers for both provision of their expertise and learning. On the other hand, the centers will benefit from participation of scholars and experts from outside the EAC Partner States through various partnerships among stakeholders in health and in Higher Education. In addition, students from the EAC Partner States are expected to join other students in the training and research at the centers, as well as through study tours and other activities within various mobility patterns dictated by modes of delivery and supervision provided by the centers. In view of this, the Centers of Excellence have to develop instruments and operational procedures for admission through the regional harmonization of the relevant criteria, meeting the minimum requirements for hosting the programmes in terms of facilities, faculty and other staff as well as on the curriculum, to ensure effectiveness of the functions of the centers namely, 2
teaching, research and services. The development of the relevant instruments will be informed by guidelines, which ensure that the centers are at the leadership level in their respective area of expertise in the East African Community. The Centers of Excellence are therefore supposed to operate within a regionally harmonized Legal and Institutional Framework, calling for involvement of a number of experts through consultancies, Workshops and Meetings to develop the enabling environment for effective and efficient functioning of the centers. 1.2. Outcome of the First East African Community Regional e-health Workshop and Ministerial Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda from 8 th to 10 th November 2010 The Republic of Rwanda hosted the First East African Community Regional e-health Workshop and Ministerial Conference at the Serena Hotel in Kigali Rwanda from 8 th to 10 th November 2010 that focused on both policy and technical elements in e-health. The workshop drew high-level delegates from the United States, the East African Community (EAC) and private sector representatives from Sub-Saharan Africa. The forum explored and assessed policies that could support an enabling environment for e-healthcare solutions. Deliberations focused on e-health areas such as telemedicine, electronic medical records and healthcare information systems. The forum also discussed industry trends and best practices, financing strategies, and government policymaking in the sector, including technology issues and broadband solutions that enables the improvement of the healthcare infrastructure and service delivery. The Forum came up with the following resolutions: i. Creation of an EAC Regional e-health Working Group /at EAC Regional Level ii. Establishment of National Inter Agency e-health Working Groups /at Partner States Level iii. Development of legal and regulatory frameworks iv. Implementation of the East African Community Regional Integrated Telemedicine and e-health Program; v. Technology and Infrastructure Improvements for e-health Systems vi. Consideration of the Proposed Financing Models for e-health Implementation at national and regional levels in the East African Community region. 1.3. EAC Regional e-government Framework: The 9 th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health that was help in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania from 14 th to 17 th April 2014 noted that the EAC Regional e-government Framework that 3
was approved by the 13 th regular meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers and the 8 th Summit of the EAC Heads of States held in November 2006 and it identifies e-health as one of the seven focus areas in the implementation of the e-government Programme. In this regard, the 9 th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health further noted that the First East African Community Regional E-Health Workshop and Ministerial Conference which was held in Kigali, Rwanda from 8 th to 10 th November 2010 provided opportunities to share experiences and allow insight into policies, practices and technologies that can advance the E-Health capabilities in the East African Community region. Consequently, the 9 th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health considered and approved the convening of the Second East African Community Regional E-Health Workshop and Ministerial Conference to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in order to consider and follow-up on the implementation of the resolutions of the first workshop. 2.0. Justification for the Second e-health Workshop and Ministerial Conference As countries started implementing SDGs targets, there is an opportunity to build on the momentum and political commitments to ensure health services become accessible to all people. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the last MDGs there is need to do things differently in post-mdgs so as to sustain progress in those countries doing well, and accelerate progress in those countries doing poorly. Collectively the EAC Partner States have extensive experiences in addressing health challenges. The EAC is now seeking to improve its healthcare delivery systems using these newfound e-health and informatics initiatives. The expansion and integration of e-health systems throughout the EAC will offer substantial and growing opportunities with internal and external collaborators that specialize in e-health solutions and ICT infrastructure, and create an enabling environment for e-health solutions in East Africa and to foster the participation of potential stakeholders in this important sector The 2 nd EAC Regional e-health and Telemedicine Workshop is expected to invite stakeholders from public sectors, private sectors, Academicians, Ministers of health and Ministers responsible for ICTs. The conference will tap into and leverage these experiences in line with the mission of the EAC to improve coordination and cooperation among the Partner States. The workshop will introduce EAC public and private sector decision makers to solutions that will enable the improvement of healthcare infrastructure and delivery through the use of ICTs. Participation in the workshop will include EAC member country decision makers, EAC e-health public and private 4
organizations, Development Partners and ICT industry from the EAC and beyond. 3.0. Objectives of the Workshop & Conference The main objective of the workshop and conference is to have high level dialogue with different stakeholders on how technology can enhance healthcare delivery, brainstorm on the issue of ICT regulations especially those related to e-health and how to enhance usage of e-health platforms in East Africa and what should be done to improve/strengthen the healthcare infrastructure of e-health and ICT in general. The Agenda of the Conference will focus on the policies, technologies and financial schemes that will advance e-health among and between the EAC Partner States, and specifically the conference will achieve the following objectives: Review and share experiences on the progress made by EAC Partner States in using e-health initiatives to achieve the MDG 4 and 5 also strategies to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the goal 3 (health related); Discuss appropriate enabling environment for e-healthcare, including policies, governance mechanisms and institutional capacity regionally and on national level in general, and in particular (i) the standardization of e-health systems and (ii) data protection and privacy regime for e- health; Deliberate on sustainable financing of e-healthcare projects and Implementing Self-sustaining Telehealth Services; Strategies on accelerating and broadening access to Health Systems through technology and Infrastructure, including ICT infrastructure access, emerging technologies and their implications on access to e- health services. 4.0 Expected Outputs By the end of the workshop, the following outputs will be achieved and sustained thereafter: Evidence and lessons from e-health interventions shared and action plans agreed for scaling up strategies that work in Partner States; Stakeholders commitments re-energized towards post-2015 health agenda for the EAC region through e-health and informatics; Networking between e-health stakeholders in the Partner States enhanced; 5
Establishment of the Regional Working Group for e-health and process for the establishment of National Inter-agency e-health Working Groups; Awareness raised on the application of available technologies, new and emerging e-health and Telemedicine solutions; Recommendations formulated on the contribution of Partner States, EAC organs & institutions in support of regional e-health initiatives. 5.0 Expected Participants The Conference will gather participants including policymakers from Governments and public organizations, e-health and Telemedicine experts and professionals, Technology and ICT solutions providers, Research and Development institutions, Development Partners, International and non-profit organizations. 6.0 Venue and proposed dates of the workshop Kigali, Rwanda, 15 th 18 th May 2018 7.0 Roles and Responsibilities The workshop will be co-hosted by the EASTECO and the East African Centre of Excellence on e-health and Biomedical Engineering (CEBE), University of Rwanda. 8.0 Theme and activities of the Workshop The general theme of the Conference will be: Harnessing Science, Technology and Innovation to Transform Healthcare Delivery and Accelerate Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in East Africa. The methodology will include a Ministerial panel, sessions where selected papers will be presented and an exhibition of e-health & Telemedicine solutions where companies will showcase their products, as well as field visits. The event will also provide an opportunity to share national, regional and global experience in e-health and Telemedicine programmes and solutions, biomedical engineering and allow participants to get insight into policy and regulatory systems, infrastructure and technologies, efficient partnerships to improve healthcare delivery. 9.0. Funding Aspects 6
The Second e-health Workshop and Ministerial Conference will be partly funded from the contributions from co-organizers (EASTECO/EAC and University of Rwanda) and financial supports from the various sponsors. These last shall include i) East African Partner States; ii) Development Partners and civil society organizations; iii) Business and non-profit private sector; iv) Academia; v) Exhibitors; vi) Individual participation: participation fee will be requested according to various rates. 10.0. Contacts: Request for information should be addressed to: The Executive Secretary, The East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), 2 nd Floor Telecom House, Kacyiru, KIGALI RWANDA Phone: +250-788310402 Email: easteco@eachq.org, easteco-con@eachq.org 7