In 2025, I committed to a single guiding idea: We Transition.
It was a year of moving from participation to leadership, from advocacy to influence, and from ideas to systems-level change. Being recognized as a Top 12 Finalist of the OD Impact Challenge 2025 was one of the moments that crystallized what this transition truly meant.

The OD Impact Challenge is not simply an application process; it is an exercise in clarity. It forces you to articulate the why behind your work, the how of your impact, and the future of your vision. Reaching the Top 12 affirmed that work grounded in evidence, lived experience, and long-term thinking can stand out on a global stage.

A Year of Transition in Practice

The recognition reflected a year defined by consistent, layered work. In early 2025, I strengthened the intellectual foundation of my advocacy through new peer-reviewed publications on mHealth and health literacy, while also expanding access to learning through CPD-accredited public health courses.

By February and March, my work had moved firmly into global advocacy spaces. I opened the 4th Global NCD Alliance pre-conference for people living with NCDs, contributed to panels on law, data, and social movements, and delivered closing remarks on World Obesity Day, emphasizing policy-based responses over blame.

As the year progressed, the transition became even clearer. From launching Lifesten Health 2.0 and joining the Commonwealth Startup Fellowship, to contributing to WHO technical packages and advancing alcohol, tobacco, and nutrition policy advocacy in Kenya, the work evolved from conversation to implementation.

Why ODIC Mattered

What made the OD Impact Challenge meaningful was not just the recognition, but the discipline it demanded. It required me to reflect on sustainability, scale, and systems, questions that shaped much of my work in 2025, from presenting mHealth research at Kenya’s first National NCD Conference to engaging health ministers and policymakers at UNGA and the World Health Assembly.

Being named a Top 12 Finalist is not a destination. It is a checkpoint. One that reinforces the responsibility to go deeper, build stronger systems, and ensure that impact does not depend on presence alone.

As I look toward 2026 and the mantra “This Year, We Transform,” this recognition stands as encouragement to continue doing the hard, often invisible work of turning ideas into durable change.