Closing the gap: The role of mathematical models in global infectious disease policy setting during the COVID19 ERA

Dr. Njoki Kimani of Washington State University and frequent collaborator of the University of Nairobi in particular with UNITID and the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology will be speaking at the webinar, Closing the gap: The role of mathematical models in global infectious disease policy setting during the COVID19 ERA as part of the CUGH Conference 2023 on the April 14, 2023, from 8:30-10:00 am EDT.

Dr. Kimani is an infectious diseases epidemiologist working for the Ministry of Health in Kenya as the incident manager of the County Public Health Emergency Operations Centre. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Infectious Diseases at the University of Nairobi and Washington State University; her research aims to estimate the burden of COVID-19 in Kenya, characterize Post COVID Conditions in the population, and use mathematical models to determine optimal vaccination strategies for Kenya. Dr. Kimani also works as an epidemiologist at the Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (CEMA-Africa) and has experience working with international public health organizations such as WHO. Her talk will be based on findings from her recent publication, a systematic review of SARS-CoV-2 modeling in Africa to guide policy which showed a relatively small number of publications from the continent. The study’s findings emphasize the importance of investing in developing modeling capacity in Africa as a useful tool for policy guidance.