Advancing Public Health Research in Eastern Africa through Data Science Training (APHREA-DST)

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DS-I Africa Virtual Network Exchange

April 8, 2026

Capacity Building and Training Programs

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Presented by

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Patrick Weke, PhD

University of Nairobi, Kenya

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[APHREA-DST PIs: Rahel Bekele (Ethiopia); Kiros Berhane (USA); Patrick Weke (Kenya)]

Agenda

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1. Introduction – Project structure and aims

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• Project milestones – MS training programs, and collaborative research

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• Short term trainings, workshops and faculty development program

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• Research groups

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5. Opportunities and areas of collaboration

APHREA-DST Project Structure

Specific Aims

1. Develop and establish new MS programs in public health data science in Ethiopia and Kenya.
2. Establish a faculty development program to promote sustainability of data science education in the region.
3. Develop and deliver short courses on key areas of data science competency.
4. Provide an immersion experience for MS trainees and mentored data scientists.
5. Conduct systematic, periodic program monitoring and evaluation and establish long-term sustainability of the research training programs.
6. Explore feasibility of PhD programs in public health data science. By building on the newly established MS programs, in Year 5 we will explore either enhancing existing PhD programs with data science courses or developing a PhD program in Public Health Data Science, if deemed timely.
7. Broaden the reach of the research training program through dissemination activities spanning national and regional levels.

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Structure and Targeted Outcomes of Training Components

Milestones

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MSc in Public Health Data Science

• UoN, Kenya
• First cohort started in February 2023
• Total of 147 students enrolled
• 29 candidates have successfully graduated.
• 3 graduates published their work in a peer-reviewed journals.
• Participated in practicum/research immersion.

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• AAU, Ethiopia
• First cohort started in October 2023
• Total of 69 students enrolled
• 17 candidates have successfully graduated.
• Participated in practicum/research immersion.

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Collaborative Research and Publications

Research publications by project team members and graduating students

1. Elisha Abade, …, Patrick Weke, Rahel Bekele and Kiros Berhane (2024). A Collaborative Approach to Advancing Research and Training in Public Health Data Science – Challenges, Opportunities and Lessons Learnt. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.10.3389/fpubh.2024.1474947 ISSN: 2296-2565 (online).
2. Valine Okeyo, Idah Orowe and Nicholas Oguge (2024). Predicting Respiratory Diseases Attributed to PM2.5 Air Pollution in Nairobi County Using Random Forest Model. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, Vol. 9 (7), pages 3489 – 3492. ISSN: 2456-2165. https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/IJISRT24JUL1521
3. John Kiche, Ivivi Mwaniki, Idah Orowe and Patrick Weke (2024). Classification of Pneumonia, Tuberculosis and Covid-19 from Chest X-Ray Images Using Convolution Neural Network Model. International Journal of Statistics and Probability, Vol. 13 (4), pages 42 – 63. ISSN: 1927-7032. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijsp.v13n4p42
4. Augustine Masinde, Paul Mwaniki and Joseph Mwaniki (2024). Leveraging long short term memory in air pollution prediction in Nairobi. International Journal of Statistics and Applied Mathematics, 9(5), pages 160 – 164. ISSN: 2456-1452. https://doi.org/10.22271/maths.2024.v9.i5b.1856

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Short Term Trainings, Workshops and Faculty Dev. Program

• Python programming language
• R programming language
• Epidemiological methods related to data science
• Developing Shiny Apps
• Optimization Tools in Machine Learning
• Equitable AI in healthcare
• Data Science Ethics
• Responsible AI, bias and fairness
• Feature Selection in Machine Learning

APHREA-DST Workshops in Ethiopia/Kenya/Geneva

• 4-7 April 2022: Official Launch Workshop, Nairobi.
• 25-26 May 2023: Experience Sharing and Training Workshop, Addis Ababa.
• 24-25 June 2024: Strengthening PHDS Training and Research in the Region, Mombasa.
• 24-26 June 2025: Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Harnessing AI and DS for Health in Africa, Brocher Foundation, Geneva.
• 3-5 Nov 2025: Data Science for Health, Addis Ababa.
• Next: 13-15 May 2026: Promoting PHDS Training and Research, Nairobi.

Attendance: Physical and virtual

Faculty Development Programs

Research Groups at AAU and UoN

AAU Research Groups

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• Data Science for Reproductive Health/Maternal and Child Health
• Data Science for Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases
• Data Science for Environment, WASH, Food Security and Health
• Data Warehouse and Architecture

UoN Research Groups

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• Statistical and Predictive Modeling
• Machine Learning and Data Visualization
• Natural Language Processing 
• Big Data Analytics
• Data Security Privacy and Ethics
• Genomics

Opportunities and Collaboration

Opportunities

• Support from University management

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• Close working relationships with development partners

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• Developing a PhD program in Public Health Data Science, if deemed timely and sustainable

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• Rolling out country-wide health information systems in both countries to be able to generate massive data

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• Well established collaboration and knowledge exchange initiatives within the larger DS-I Africa

Areas of Collaboration

• Joint seminars and short trainings especially in the area of data science competency

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• Teaching, supervision and mentorship opportunities

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• A review of the MS in PHDS curricula

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• Research collaboration

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• Design of training modules to buid the DS capacity

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• Seeking alternative sources of funding to strengthen short courses and existing research groups.

Acknowledgement

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• NIH
• DS-I Africa Coordinating Centre
• CU – Mailman School of Public Health/Dept of Biostatistics
• UoN
• AAU
• All the stakeholders and data partners (MoH, EPHI, KEMRI, EIAR, ICRAF, CEMA, ICAP, CEMA, GeoHealth Hub, KNBS, Safaricom, IBM Lab Africa, Development Institute) - These partner institutions continue to offer our cohorts of MS students practicum opportunities and research immersion.

PIs and Contacts

Prof. Kiros Berhane – CU

Email: ktb2132@cumc.columbia.edu

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Prof. Patrick Weke – UoN

Email: pweke@uonbi.ac.ke

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Prof. Rahel Bekele – AAU

Email: rahel.bekele@aau.edu.et

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Haruka Morita – Project Manager, CU

Email: hm2487@cumc.columbia.edu

Project Website

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https://www.aphrea-dst.org/

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THANK YOU

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