Started my journey in
2008
Based in
Nairobi, Kenya
Countries Served
61+ Countries
Biography.
Dr. Mwai is the Presidential Advisor for Health in the Executive Office of the President in Kenya, and a leading Health Economist and Health Financing Specialist in Kenya and the region. He holds a PhD in Health and Environmental Economics, is a Senior Lecturer of Health and Environmental Economics at the University of Nairobi, and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Environment for Development (EfD) under the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
He advocates for expansion of disease prevention, health promotion, and Primary Health Care approaches as the only sure pathway to sustainable health financing. His work spans the public, private sectors and major international development partners across Africa and the Caribbean,
Dr Mwai is recognized as an architect sustainable health care system across many developing countries. He is the brain behind the major health care reforms being undertaken in Kenya, on health digitalization, commodity security, humane resources for health and health financing. His research interests focus on the nexus between health and the environment, highlighting that a healthy environment is essential for human health
Education
My academic journey has equipped me with the tools to drive meaningful change in health systems.
My work sits at the intersection of health financing, economic evaluation, and health system reform. From supporting national and sub-national planning and resource tracking to advising the Executive Office of the President in Kenya, I focus on translating evidence into practical decisions that expand prevention, strengthen Primary Health Care, and accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage.
Experience
Work Across
Publications
Completed
Skills Highlights
- A health economist with over 15 years of local and international experience guiding the adoption of health policies geared toward improving healthcare outcomes and expanding high-quality health services across all levels of the health system.
- Expertise in application of economic evaluation tools (costing, cost-benefit analysis, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness (CEA) tools and methodologies) to guide health investment in areas with greatest impact.
- Health system strengthening in line with the health care system building blocks.
- Expertise in evaluation of countries' health financing landscape including disease sub-analysis for key vertical programs i.e., HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, and reproductive health.
- Technical expertise in development of countries grant application for Global Fund resources for Malaria, TB and HIV; appraisal and selection of the non-state principal recipients; working with countries RCM and CCM including Join MICC.
- Development of country strategic plan; development of common results and accountability plan; costing of strategic plan and guidelines to achieve financial sustainability of health programs.
- Expansive experience in domestic resource mobilization skills, including assisting governments to access external funding for health programs e.g. Global Fund resources for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB.
- Expertise in application of health financing and economics tools to accelerate the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Kenya.
- Expert in the implementation of WHO Health Security Financing Assessment Tool (HSFAT).
- Expertise in generating critical evidence to inform health programming including budget analysis, expenditure analysis, resource tracking (National Health Accounts (NHA) and county health accounts (CHA), results-based financing among others.
- Knowledge on development of countries essential health package and health strategic plans showing human resource needs, prioritize interventions, and resource gaps geared towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.
- Experience in supporting planning and budgeting with focus on Program Based Budgeting (PBB) in the National and County Government, including a key role in the development of the PBB training curriculum and manual used to train county officials on program-based budgeting working closely with the Kenya School of Government.
- Extensive experience in building county capacities in budget cycle management, understanding of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) process that guides budgeting, budget advocacy, and development of required Public Expenditure Reviews (PER) and Annual Work Plans (AWP).
- Expertise in the application of Results-Based Financing (RBF) approaches in the health sector including performance-based financing, conditional cash transfers, cash on delivery and program-for-results.
- Expansive knowledge in handling large survey and survey data e.g., the Kenya Household Expenditure and Utilization Survey of 2013.
- Knowledge of global development and funding dynamics, relationship management, and planning processes.
- Capacity to lead project teams and advise national/sub national programs, as well as communicate health economics and financing information to a variety of audiences.
- Expertise in carrying out capacity need assessment and capacity improvement plan.
- Knowledge and experience on donor funding dynamics, relationship management, and planning processes.
Research Informs Policy,
Policy Shapes Systems,
Systems Define Health Outcomes.
Collaborative
Working with governments, international organizations, and research institutions to develop evidence-based health policies that improve outcomes across populations.
Evidence-Based
Grounding all recommendations in rigorous research and data analysis to ensure health financing strategies are effective, sustainable, and equitable.
Innovative
Pioneering new approaches to health economics and financing that address the unique challenges facing healthcare systems in Africa and developing regions.