Stephen Odiwuor Ochieng, a final year medicine student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), has been crowned the winner of the 2019 Students Projects for Health Competition.
The award by the US-based Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), is in recognition of Odiwour’s community initiative which seeks to address the burden of malnutrition among children enrolled in early childhood development centres in Kenya.
“This award gives much morale to press on with the initiative which aims to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in Kenya,” Odiwuor said.
Odiwuor further added that despite the existence of resources to screen for malnutrition in Kenya through the health centres, still many children are yet to be reached because parents are not aware of what they need to do.
“By going to the education centres especially in low-income areas, we can reach the most vulnerable children to malnutrition,” he revealed.
Following the award, Stephen will in September this year travel to Darwin, Australia, to share his innovative idea with a panel of experts and other internationally sourced professionals in the health sector.
According to FAIMER website, the Student Projects for Health Competition identifies and recognizes students who have made outstanding contributions to projects that successfully promote community health and well-being.
The award is only the latest that Stephen has bagged. In August 2018, the United Kingdom-based international organization, Theirworld.org honoured him for his revolutionary approach to managing the challenge of malnutrition among children in Kenya.
