Anthony Langat

Nairobi

Journalist at Freelance

Journalist. I write and tweet on #development #environment #climate change #health #water #human rights

Articles

From Memes to Medicine: Rwanda’s AI saving mums, babies… while Kenya tweets

1 month ago | willowhealthmedia.org | Anthony Langat

In South Africa, HIV self-testing is via WhatsApp chatbot—no clinic, no awkwardness, just a calm voice guiding you snap a photo of your test strip. Click. Then results appear. In 2023, just half of Kenya’s health facilities could provide lab services due to equipment shortages and staffing gaps, forcing many patients to forgo critical testing when they couldn’t travel further from their home areas, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
From Memes to Medicine: Rwanda’s AI saving mums, babies

1 month ago | willowhealthmedia.org | Anthony Langat

In South Africa, HIV self-testing is via WhatsApp chatbot—no clinic, no awkwardness, just a calm voice guiding you snap a photo of your test strip. Click. Then results appear. In 2023, just half of Kenya’s health facilities could provide lab services due to equipment shortages and staffing gaps, forcing many patients to forgo critical testing when they couldn’t travel further from their home areas, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
African nations demand debt relief, increased aid and financial reform

1 month ago | devex.com | Anthony Langat

Last week, African government leaders gathered to outline a blueprint to tackle the continent’s mounting debt burdens, calling on high-income countries to fulfill their official development assistance obligations and increase contributions to the International Monetary Fund’s initiatives for poverty reduction. Gathered at the African Union Conference on Debt in Lomé, Togo, delegates from African Union member state governments and finance institutions adopted a joint declaration on debt.
The power to communicate: How to leverage AI in assistive technologies

2 months ago | devex.com | Anthony Langat

People with disabilities face many barriers across their lives. Often, they are cumulative: Lack of access to inclusive education can lead to fewer employment opportunities later in life. Such barriers are compounded by the high cost of assistive devices, making it difficult for people with disabilities to access social services, such as health care or welfare services. Ike Agyei Mensah, a Ghanaian innovator, is looking to change that.
Bridging the diagnostics gap in Africa with AI-powered solutions

2 months ago | devex.com | Anthony Langat

Proper diagnosis is the cornerstone of effective disease treatment. On the African continent, however, which bears over of the global disease burden, diagnoses are often incorrect — or missing altogether. Artificial intelligence, or AI, may be changing that. Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson, a Nigerian innovator, created an AI-powered application that enables users to do diagnostic testing from the comfort of their homes.
When Hospitals Become Crime Scenes: Patients admitted for care—missing or dead by dawn

2 months ago | willowhealthmedia.org | Anthony Langat

Behind every empty bed and unanswered question, a disturbing pattern unfolds. In hospitals meant to save lives, patients disappear or die under mysterious circumstances as the hours tick by. With each passing year, reports of insecurity in both public and private hospitals across Kenya continue to rise, ranging from minor breaches to fatal events.
Night Shift Nightmare: Admitted for care, dead by dawn – who’s hunting hospital patients?

2 months ago | willowhealthmedia.org | Anthony Langat

The bandits walked into the hospital, their weapons concealed, took out guns and rescued one of their renegade own. Patients took cover under beds, nurses fled. Where were the deter, detect, and delay measures? Albert Chesang, a 52-year-old cancer patient, frail and struggling to walk, was admitted at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret. Six days later, he vanished without a trace. The hospital refused to release surveillance footage to his family.
Gates Foundation to fund AI scaling hubs in Africa

2 months ago | devex.com | Anthony Langat

The Gates Foundation has signed a three-year, $7.5 million partnership to scale artificial intelligence innovations in Rwanda, on the sidelines of the Global AI Summit on Africa. The summit, convened by the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Rwandan Ministry of ICT & Innovation in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, was held last week in Kigali.
US aid cuts cause uproar over food shortages in Kenyan refugee camp

Mar 19, 2025 | devex.com | Anthony Langat

Two weeks ago, hundreds of refugees gathered outside the U.N. compound at Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana County to protest against food shortages. Initially peaceful, the demonstration escalated into violence as protesters began throwing stones at the compound. In response, police opened fire, injuring four people while attempting to disperse the crowd.
Infant & Maternal Mortality: How training, technology are helping medics save precious lives

Mar 15, 2025 | willowhealthmedia.org | Anthony Langat

The training and innovations bore fruit in 30 facilities, and by 2023, maternal deaths decreased from about 240 deaths to about 60 deaths per 100,000 births Last year, slightly over one million children were born in Kenya. While the bundles of joy brought happiness to many a family, death of either the mother or the child were recorded in some. This is the unfortunate case that low and middle-income countries like Kenya are struggling to address.