It is estimated that about 1.8 million people in Kenya are obese, this represents 5% of the total population.
Local health experts have sounded the alarm on the rising cases of obesity in Kenya, and this prompted Cancer Scan Company Limited, together with its subsidiary AfricaScan, and its preventive healthcare program development arm, Campus for H in collaboration with the Ministry of Health Nakuru County and Naivasha Sub-County, to launch a program that is aimed at addressing this problem.
The app which was launched on Friday last week (27 January, 2017), is not available for the public to use (as much as you can still download it). Currently only registered Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in Naivasha can use the app and find it useful. The developers of the app claim that Simway is based on the most updated theories of weight management and packed with cutting-edge technologies, for Kenya’s Community Health Volunteers (CHV) to defeat the obesity epidemic.
With Simway, the CHV (Community Health Volunteers) becomes your weight management planner, supporter, and consultant. CHV could develop a fully personalized plan with an accurate calculation of Kilocalorie (kcal) intake reduction goal, track your daily behavior, or give answers to your health questions – all from the app.
Simway recommends weight reduction behavior goals which meet your personal calorie reduction target (kcal), for instance, “reduce half a plate of ugali per day”. Recommendations of behavior goals are designed consistent with current lifestyle of Kenyan.
CHVs track clients’ weight and whether a client is doing, not doing, or not reporting his/her behavior goal in real-time, and closely communicate with those who are not on the right track through a messaging function within Simway.
If you are interested in trying the app out, it is only available for download on the Google Play Store.
