Shepparton university lecturer Yangama Jokwiro has been recognised for his efforts to bridge the health gap in Africa through an innovative mobile phone app.
Mr Jokwiro came to Australia in 2004 from Zimbabwe, where he first trained to become a registered nurse, and is a senior lecturer at La Trobe University Shepparton’s rural health school.
His drive to make a change to health outcomes in Africa was inspired by first-hand experience with his family back home.
“Unfortunately I’ve lost some relatives due to medical conditions that I thought if there was specialist nurses in critical care, midwifery and chronic disease management, they would have been sorted out,” he said.
“My grandfather passed away and all he needed was a specialist critical care nurse to start intravenous antibiotics instead of being discharged on oral antibiotics.
“Seeing the divide between what we are doing here in terms of teaching, I thought we should be able to do something to bridge that divide in terms of education.”
So three years ago Mr Jokwiro and his brother Dr Addmore Jokwiro developed an app-driven learning management platform, to provide continuous professional development for nurses through their mobile phones.
“Every nurse in Africa has a mobile phone, so we could easily leverage that technology to deliver education online,” Mr Jokwiro said.
“Twenty-nine thousand people are on that platform, and 29,000 is about 95 per cent of nurses in Zimbabwe; that's a huge success.”
The app also allows nurses to renew their medical licences online, rather than travelling long distances, and provides a digitised medical drug book where they can look up medications.
After the success of the app, Mr Jokwiro completed La Trobe University’s Accelerator Program, which helped him upskill and gain philanthropic support to start the Vaka Health Foundation.
“The idea is to cement the link between La Trobe University’s rural health school and Africa,” he said.
“To provide an opportunity for nurses in Africa to develop professionally — to grow from registered nurses to postgraduate courses and linking with La Trobe University.”
The foundation’s footprint is largely across English-speaking countries in Africa and works through partnerships, particularly with the East, Central and Southern African College of Nursing.
Mr Jokwiro said targeting nurses, rather than doctors as is common, aimed to make a real difference to rural communities in Africa.
“The common men outside the big cities don’t have access to doctors — the nurses are on the ground,” he said.
“Doctors are important but nurses are the ones involved in preventative care, health promotion and curative care as well.
“We believe everyone has a right to a well-qualified specialist care nurse.”
As well as tackling poor mortality and morbidity rates in Africa, Mr Jokwiro said in a female-dominated profession, nursing was providing an opportunity for women to empower themselves.
“Some of the women we're working with have been opening up an email account for the first time,” he said.
“So those changes, like economic inclusion, being able to upskill, develop themselves and entrepreneurship — those opportunities transform and bring more pride in the profession.”
In September, the foundation was recognised with an AAMEG Africa Award for the Best Workforce and Industry Development Initiative.
Mr Jokwiro said the recognition spurred him on.
“Making a real difference here to people in this community and making a real difference in Africa is what really drives me,” he said.