Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) in collaboration with the University of Dakar, invites researchers, policymakers, health managers, development partners, digital health practitioners, government representatives and other stakeholders to the Global Virtual Dissemination of the Digital Health Payment Initiative and Research Project (DHPI-R).
Theme: Scaling Digital Payments in Sub-Saharan Africa; Evidence, Action and Road Ahead
Date: November 18, 2026
Time: 16:00 – 17:30 HRS EAT
Speakers:
- Dr. Elizabeth E. Kiracho, Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy Planning and Management, MakSPH
- Patsy Kiconco, Digital Finance Officer, WHO – Regional Officer for Africa
- Prof. Margaret McConnell, Associate Professor, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Dr. Eric Aigbgun, Knowledge Management and Learning Lead, SCIDaR – Solina Centre for International Development and Research
Moderator: Prof. Peter Waiswa, Professor at MakSPH and Global Health Division, Karolinska Institutet
The 90-minute meeting will feature:
- Presentation of synthesised multi-country evidence on system requirements, cost-effectiveness, equity and government adoption of digital health payments.
- Official launch of the DHPI-R Supplement in BMJ Global Health.
- A high-level panel discussion featuring representatives from WHO-AFRO, Gavi, the Gates Foundation, Better Than Cash Alliance and Ministries of Health, focusing on sustainable approaches to scaling digital health payments.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ckDRGMjgRH-nhe3I7Ch-5g
About DHPI-R
The two-year initiative, funded by the Gates Foundation, has generated the first multi-country body of evidence on digital payments for health workers involved in vaccination and other large-scale health campaigns in Sub-Saharan Africa. Led by Makerere University and the University of Dakar, the project has conducted 18 studies across 12 countries, examining implementation experiences, effectiveness, costs and opportunities for scaling digital health payments.
Digital payments are increasingly being adopted as a faster, more secure and transparent alternative to cash payments. Experiences from Côte d'Ivoire, where mobile money reduced payment turnaround times from three weeks to just two hours for more than 50,000 health workers, demonstrate the potential of digital payment systems to improve efficiency in health campaign implementation.
However, challenges relating to incorrect phone numbers, inactive mobile money accounts, incomplete health-worker registries and gender-related barriers continue to affect timely and equitable payments.