DGHI Impact Report — 2023-2024

Florence Jaguga

Psychiatrist, Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital
Eldoret, Kenya

One of fewer than 100 trained psychiatrists working in Kenya, Dr. Florence Jaguga is a driving force behind efforts to expand access to mental health care in her country and across sub-Saharan Africa. At Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital, she directs inpatient and outpatient programs addressing alcohol and drug abuse, while also leading public education about addiction and advocating for national policies that support mental health. She has been collaborating with DGHI for six years through the AMPATH consortium, with much of the work focusing on projects that train non-specialists to deliver mental health support to youth and families. In 2021, she received a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center to study the effectiveness of a peer-led intervention to prevent substance abuse among adolescents with HIV.

I am working to change

…the problem of substance use in Kenya and Africa. Many people in Kenya and Africa are struggling with substance use problems yet have no access to care.

The biggest challenges we face

Less than 1 percent of public sector health facilities in Kenya have substance use disorder treatment services, and we have very few mental health providers. Also, culture and moral perceptions about substance use constitute barriers to access.

I feel fulfilled when I see patients with substance use disorders recover and lead productive lives after completing both the community and facility-based programs.

Partnering with DGHI helps us

…to complement each other’s research expertise and strengths. For my Fogarty global health grant, Dr. Eve Puffer from DGHI was my mentor. Her extensive experience with implementation science was valuable in helping craft a proposal that eventually got funded. DGHI is also supporting the development of leadership capacity through the Rockstar Woman Scholars program, which was an outcome of the first DGHI East African partners’ meeting in Butaro, Rwanda in May 2023. DGHI organized this group of mid-career researchers and sponsored sessions with a leadership expert to develop our skills.

It’s important for our partners to

…provide more opportunities for collaboration and cross-learning, such as hosting lectures across our sites. Mechanisms for funding research and training are also very important.

I am inspired by

…finding solutions for substance use problems in Africa and bringing meaningful change to the lives of people who struggle with substance use problems. I feel fulfilled when I see patients with substance use disorders recover and lead productive lives after completing both the community and facility-based substance use programs.

In five years, I hope

…to work with policy makers to scale up substance use interventions that we have tested at AMPATH. We have conducted pilot work with screening and brief interventions for adolescents here at Moi and the findings are promising. I hope to conduct a multi-site full scale trial to explore the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of this intervention. I also hope to develop national guidelines for integrating screening and brief interventions into primary care, and guidelines for training healthcare workers to implement the intervention.

Florence Jaguga

Psychiatrist, Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital

Eldoret, Kenya

One of fewer than 100 trained psychiatrists working in Kenya, Dr. Florence Jaguga is a driving force behind efforts to expand access to mental health care in her country and across sub-Saharan Africa. At Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital, she directs inpatient and outpatient programs addressing alcohol and drug abuse, while also leading public education about addiction and advocating for national policies that support mental health. She has been collaborating with DGHI for six years through the AMPATH consortium, with much of the work focusing on projects that train non-specialists to deliver mental health support to youth and families. In 2021, she received a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center to study the effectiveness of a peer-led intervention to prevent substance abuse among adolescents with HIV.

I am working to change …

… the problem of substance use in Kenya and Africa. Many people in Kenya and Africa are struggling with substance use problems yet have no access to care.

The biggest challenges we face …

Less than 1 percent of public sector health facilities in Kenya have substance use disorder treatment services, and we have very few mental health providers. Also, culture and moral perceptions about substance use constitute barriers to access.

Partnering with DGHI helps us …

… to complement each other’s research expertise and strengths. For my Fogarty global health grant, Dr. Eve Puffer from DGHI was my mentor. Her extensive experience with implementation science was valuable in helping craft a proposal that eventually got funded. DGHI is also supporting the development of leadership capacity through the Rockstar Woman Scholars program, which was an outcome of the first DGHI East African partners’ meeting in Butaro, Rwanda in May 2023. DGHI organized this group of mid-career researchers and sponsored sessions with a leadership expert to develop our skills.

It’s important for our partners to …

… provide more opportunities for collaboration and cross-learning, such as hosting lectures across our sites. Mechanisms for funding research and training are also very important.

I am inspired by …

Finding solutions for substance use problems in Africa and bringing meaningful change to the lives of people who struggle with substance use problems. I feel fulfilled when I see patients with substance use disorders recover and lead productive lives after completing both the community and facility-based substance use programs.

In five years, I hope …

… to work with policy makers to scale up substance use interventions that we have tested at AMPATH. We have conducted pilot work with screening and brief interventions for adolescents here at Moi and the findings are promising. I hope to conduct a multi-site full scale trial to explore the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of this intervention. I also hope to develop national guidelines for integrating screening and brief interventions into primary care, and guidelines for training healthcare workers to implement the intervention.