April 2026: ProtEqt Voice partners convene in Kilifi for first project workshop
News
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ProtEqt Voice partners met in Kilifi, Kenya for our first in-person workshop in April 2026, advancing work on participation and voice in primary health care decision-making.
The meeting brought together the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Ifakara Health Institute Tanzania (IHI) and Bajeti Hub Kenya. Advisory Group member Professor Alexander Voorhoeve from the London School of Economics (Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and the School of Public Policy) was also present.
The workshop, hosted at KEMRI, provided an opportunity for the multi-country team to discuss the project’s conceptual framework and strengthen linkages across our three work packages. Key questions raised during the workshop were around the goals of public participation, including concepts such as substantive equity, different types of legitimacy, and responsiveness. The team addressed issues of how to define primary care and challenges related to data collection on primary healthcare spending in Kenya and Tanzania.
The workshop also provided an opportunity to review ongoing methodological work, including literature reviews, survey tools, and plans for pilot testing. Discussions on the cost of participation highlighted the importance of considering financial and institutional factors when developing and scaling participatory approaches.
The workshop also gave the first opportunity for our two PhD students to present their research proposals and deepen their understanding of the project’s objectives and core concepts, while engaging in the debates on effectiveness of different participatory mechanisms in Kenya and Tanzania at national and sub-national levels.
The Kilifi meeting represents an important milestone for ProtEqt Voice, strengthening partnerships and establishing a shared direction for the next phase of the project. We were able to lay a strong foundation for advancing research on participation and voice in primary health care decision-making and we look forward to our ongoing collaboration.
