In response to COVID-19 public health issues and travel restrictions, the ICN Congress was held online in a virtual congress that brought together our National Nurses Associations and their members. The theme for this year was ‘Nursing Around the World’, which embodied the vision of ICN passing the nursing baton across the different regions in a series of live and interactive events that gave members the opportunity to showcase their expertise and innovations throughout the world.

Ogweno Stephen presented at the ICN conference 2020 in a joint session with c3 for health. The session that was sponsored by Colget Palmotive was titled oral systemic health. Ogweno’s presentation was on the role of nurses in promoting oral health. As a lived experience, an expert, and an advocate for better oral health Ogweno put together an incredible presentation that really provided practical ways in which nurses role was in delivering and promoting oral health.

By supporting oral hygiene and proper nutrition, minimizing discomfort, and diagnosing dental problems early, nursing teams and health professionals play a critical role in promoting oral health.

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“Welcome to the AfroPrenuer podcast a podcast for African entrepreneurs, where you get to listen to inspiring stories, success and lessons from African entrepreneurs” These are the opening words for the Afropreuer podcast and they speak to the mission and vision of what the podcast is all about. The podcast will be hosted by myself, Ogweno Stephen and I will be bringing to light stories of success and failures from African entrepreneurs. This is in a bid to learn from both sides, get encourages and to stir up interesting conversations and learnings.

 The Afroprenuer Podcast season 1 will feature entrepreneurs from kenya and Rwanda, very young successful entrepreneurs who will be sharing on their success and learnings. In this first season you will hear from different fields spanning from investment banking, marketing, arts, and agricultural space. Here is the preview and the link to the first podcast.

The episodes will be streaming in once a month for the year 2021. I strongly believe that African entrepreneurs need to be heard and that we are coming of age and that through this podcast we can amplify our voices, as African entrepreneurs.

Follow the podcast on this link and listen to our first episode below.

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SCOPE Schools are intensive one-day courses hosted several times a year in different cities, aimed at health care professionals with an interest in obesity management. SCOPE Schools are taught by leading international experts and involve lectures, discussions and debates, as well as opportunities to socialize and exchange knowledge with experts and fellow students. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SCOPE Schools are currently hosted online. Don’t miss this opportunity to access our live events from anywhere in the world.

This is the second Scope School in 2021 that Ogweno Stephen has participated in as Scope School Faculty speaker discussing on the various intersections and complexities of obesity. This particular Scope School was exploring the intersection between cardiovascular health and obesity. In this scope school Ogweno was among a global panel of experts including Dr Verónica Vázquez Velázquez, Obesity and Eating Disorders Clinic of the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán , Dr Sadiya Sana Khan, Northwestern University and Prof Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, Mayo Clinic talking about what is the relationship between cardiovascular health and obesity.

Here are a few pointers that you need to know on this relationship:

1. It can change your cholesterol levels. Most of us know that obesity can cause a spike in bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels, but did you know it can also lower good high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol? HDL cholesterol is important for removing bad cholesterol and working to reduce the risk for heart disease. 
2. It can cause your blood pressure to rise. Obese individuals require more blood to supply oxygen and nutrients to their bodies which causes an increase in blood pressure. Your body will also require more pressure to move this blood around. High blood pressure is also a common cause of heart attack, which are sadly more common for obese individuals.
3. It can lead to diabetes. High cholesterol, blood pressure and heart attacks aren’t the only medical conditions you need to worry about if you’re obese. Obese individuals also have a much greater chance of developing diabetes. According to the American Heart Association, at least 68 percent of people aged 65 or older with diabetes also have heart disease. While individuals with diabetes are said to be two to four times more likely to be at risk for heart disease, the American Heart Association also lists diabetes as being one of the top seven major controllable factors to prevent heart disease. If you have diabetes but have yet to be diagnosed with heart disease, now is the time to act.

However, some key messages for getting healthier could be summarized in this statement; Lose weight, get healthy and reduce risk

Here is a link to the Scope School https://www.worldobesity.org/training-and-events/events/scope-school-global-obesity-and-cardiovascular-disease-cvd

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Ogweno Stephen was recently featured on The Bizattic podcast hosted by the Vijana Tupo Initiative (VTI), an initiative that leverages digital and social media to provide solutions to youth unemployment. In the podcast Ogweno Stephen spoke about starting a business in kenya and the key skills and mindset that an entrepreneur needs as he gets into business.

link to the full podcast coming soon on http://vijanatupo.co.ke/

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Ogweno Stephen is opportunity desk’s person of the month for September 2021. This feature comes less than a month after Ogweno Stephen won the Youth Of The Year Top 35 Under 35 Kenyan Awards and is a testament for his continued contribution in youth leadership, innovation and healthcare.

Read the full feature on the link below

Stephen Ogweno from Kenya is OD Young Person of the Month for September 2021!

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY DESK.

Established in 2012, Opportunity Desk (OD) is the largest digital media platform that bridges the gap to education by sharing information on relevant learning and growth opportunities for youth around the world. These opportunities help to facilitate young people’s efforts in exchanging ideas and preparing themselves for the future.

OD is also committed to highlighting and documenting success stories and experiences of young changemakers, offering mentoring, financial support and amplifies their voices through its Mentorship Program, annual Impact Challenge and Young Person of the Month series.

Since inception, Opportunity Desk has reached several thousands of youth from over 200 countries across the world. Our website currently attracts nearly 1,000,000 views monthly with over 200,000 people engaging with us on our various social media platforms. Unlike other platforms for youth opportunities, we are very unique because we work closely with our audience, providing useful tips, direct support and guidance to them.

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Recently I travelled to Rwanda for a residential entrepreneurship programme called Jasiri. Part of my experience is all the beauty and peace that exists in Rwanda and all the amazing facilities and culture that the country has. One thing for sure is that Rwanda is clearly one of the cleanest countries that I have ever been too, and I’ve been to a few. The people are kind, and the food options are mind-blowing. Sone thing you can’t take out of Rwanda is their cultural dance, such a beauty to marvel at.

More than that the Jasiri fellows and staff that we are with in the same programme are some of the best people I’ve been privileged to be around. These people think in a very unique way, they exude confidence, high level mindsets and clearly, they have the future of Africa in them. In a subsequent post I will talk a bit more about my Jasiri experience, for the rest of this post see some of my best captures of the travel and experience of Rwanda, enjoy.

departure

arrival

hotel residence

the people

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The NCDs for public health is an online course developed and taught by Ogweno Stephen under an incredible partnership with Stowelink Inc, Talanta institute, Tujuze learning and Udemy. The course just hit the 500+ student mark. The course has high reviews and is taken by students from all over the world. This course is a big step for Stowelink in the direction of creating literacy and access to education for NCDs in Africa and across the globe.

The Non-Communicable Diseases For Public Health Course will introduce the learners to what non-communicable diseases. The main aim of this short course is to enhance literacy on non-communicable diseases in a bid to improve better health outcomes through the application of the course content to daily life. This course can be taken by individuals, community health workers, teachers, students and even parents in a bid to learn about various non communicable diseases and on how to prevent and control them.

The course contains 9 modules and has been developed in simple easy to understand language that can be understood by the general population. It adapts the use of videos, images and audios to enhance learning. The course will also provide additional course content and research papers required to giver the learner deeper understanding of the topic.

We are hoping that through this course, you will be more informed, you will have fun while learning and that you will share your learnings with someone else. Information is power and relevant information on non-communicable diseases has never been important as it is currently.

Enroll today to the course for free and share it with your networks as well on the link below

https://www.udemy.com/course/non-communicable-diseases-for-public-health/

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The Global Week for Action on NCDs aims to unite the NCD movement each year under a specific theme, concentrating our combined efforts with the aim of reducing the NCD burden globally and increasing health and equality. In 2021, the global community is uniting under the theme of community engagement – leveraging the power and potential of communities to co-create healthier societies.

As an NCDs advocate and a young person who has not only lived with NCDs but has gone ahead to serve the communities of people living with NCDs, I am very happy to have been part of this global week of action. The focus for this year has a vital component of partnership and engagement of varies communities to create healthier societies and I cannot think of a better example of action on NCDs and community building than the NCDs 365 project. In this project which I developed and run at Stowelink, we have been able to engage partners in over 10 countries in Africa forming partnerships with over 30 partners, creating local engagements, and enhancing collaboration and improving NCDs literacy for communities all over the world.

Its because of this very reason that my statement for this year’s week of action is

“we need action now and we the young people need to be at the center of this action for NCDs as advocates, innovators and ambassadors”

Read my statement on the link belowhttps://actonncds.org/take-action/voices-change/voice-of-change-stephen-ogweno-2021

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We all know moving into a new country can be very challenging especially if you are going in as a student. This is part of the conversation that Ogweno Stephen was privileged to have with the commonwealth scholars of 2021 in their predeparture event. During this event which hosted scholars both from kenya and Rwanda, Ogweno Stephen gave some insights on what tips and skills you need as an international scholar to take care of your mental health as a student abroad.

Here are some of those tips:

Be Responsive to School Outreach

Schools share lots of resources via email, and it’s important for students to read these on a regular basis. Pay attention to all of the communication from your academic program, the international student office, student services office and more. University offices are working hard to help you connect with other students, activities and resources.

Join Social Clubs and Groups

Experts say students should consider joining groups related to a student’s major, interests or hobbies, culture, language and religion to minimize social isolation.

Consider Meditation or Prayer

Many universities have prayer and meditation rooms set aside for students, which can help them manage their stress and well-being.

Explore Counseling Services

At some schools, counseling services can be offered through an interpreter or students can request a counselor from their ethnic background. Due to the pandemic, many schools have offered counseling and mental health services via phone or Zoom.

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On the 20^th of August 2021, Ogweno Stephen delivered a keynote speech under the theme of “Fostering Youth inclusiveness in the fight against non-Communicable (NCDs) diseases to achieve Universal Health Coverage.” In the online conference webinar organized by FAMSA medical students’ association. In this webinar, Ogweno talked on the state of NCDs in the continent and what we the youth could do in a bid to raise awareness and improve action on NCDs. In this keynote Ogweno insisted on the role of youth where he insisted that as the young people our role is not only to be participants in the conversations that take place in the NCDs space, rather, we as young people need to be key players in the space either as innovators, educators and policy leaders and advocates. Young people need to to take action in the NCDs space and make action on NCDs a priority.

Federation of African Medical Students Associations (Federation Des Association Des Etudiants En Medicine) abbreviated as FAMSA is the official umbrella body for all African medical students. Founded in 1968 as a Nigerian, Ugandan and Ghanaian initiative to foster the spirit of friendship and cooperation among medical students in Africa. FAMSA is an independent, project oriented, non-political medical student body that is recognized by the African Union and the World Health Organization as the official international forum of African medical students.

During the webinar which was held on Zoom between 20th and 21st August, 2021 lasting 3 hours each day, almost 150 students participated in the sessions. The conference hosted a number of speakers from different countries in Africa, whom each had different topics of discussion but all under the NCDs thematic areas. The biggest key takeaway from the event was that the key to changing the whole community always begins with you!

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