ICAP in Kenya is supporting the country to revolutionize public health through a set of digital tools capable of integrating, synthesizing, and visualizing health surveillance data from multiple sources. 

With support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ICAP in Kenya set out in 2023 to develop a comprehensive data warehouse that would enable health care facilities, county administrations, and the Ministry of Health to access real-time surveillance data, catalyzing rapid detection and timely response to public health threats.  

Within this data modernization initiative, ICAP facilitated the development of four critical integrated software solutions – SHIELD, ADaM, m-Dharura, and E-Bridge.  

Surveillance systems within Kenya’s 47 counties previously operated without effective data exchange. With major ports at Mombasa and Kisumu, international airports, and multiple land borders, Kenya is particularly susceptible to imported disease threats that require efficient border surveillance coordination. ICAP’s digital modernization initiative provides standardized surveillance operations between different geographic areas and population groups, supporting the country in using data to direct resources and create focused intervention plans in limited-resource settings.  

“These four tools operate as a unified system,” said Karimi Muchiri, health informatics lead at ICAP in Kenya, “which enables Kenya to shift from traditional reactive surveillance to predictive surveillance.”  

The Surveillance Health Information Exchange & Linkage Data, or SHIELD, is the centralized data repository developed for the Ministry of Health. The dashboard enables county surveillance teams to view outbreak data visualizations, demographic patterns, and automated alerts that help stakeholders prepare resources for intervention during the peak of an outbreak.  

The All Disease Outbreak Module (ADaM) is an end-to-end outbreak response and management solution. The electronic disease surveillance and response platform offers real-time case investigation, contact tracing, and early identification and management of diseases. In 2024, ADaM was first tested amid a Rift Valley Fever (RVF) outbreak in Marsabit County, Kenya. Implementation of the tool helped identify and investigate ongoing cases of the mosquito-borne virus to which county emergency operations personnel responded.   

“ADaM has served Kenya well in transforming our outbreak response capabilities,” said Ahmed Fidhow, Disease Surveillance and Response unit lead at the Kenya Ministry of Health. “ADaM has enabled Kenya to develop a fast, data-driven, and coordinated outbreak response strategy in a world where a second can make a big difference.” 

More recently, ADaM has been instrumental in tracking several significant public health responses in Kenya, including the 2024-25 Mpox response, and active cholera, measles and visceral leishmaniasis outbreaks.  

ICAP developed the m-Dharura web and mobile application specifically to support event-based surveillance, which monitors unstructured information from diverse sources, such as community and hospital reports, to detect potential disease outbreaks and health events early.  

E-Bridge, on the other hand, links event-based surveillance to indicator-based surveillance, which collects routine, structured data on specific, predefined indicators — such as case numbers, mortality rates, or hospitalizations — to monitor trends and predict disease incidence. The E-Bridge predictive algorithm generates risk assessment results to show if there is high probability of an outbreak, even forecasting disease outbreaks and their expected case numbers before laboratory tests confirm the presence of the disease.  

AdAM, m-Dharura, and E-Bridge are all hosted within the SHIELD platform. The integrated informatics suite will enable Kenya to achieve measurable community advantages through its surveillance and response coordination system. 

“The system starts with m-Dharura, which detects initial community signals before ADaM takes over for complete outbreak management after case identification,” added Muchiri, reflecting on how the systems work together. “E-Bridge uses data to forecast future outbreak locations while SHIELD operates as the central hub for data management and visualization.” 

“The system enables continuous data exchange between detection, verification, investigation and response phases,” Muchiri said.  

Previously, Kenya’s health system relied on paper-based surveillance systems that failed to detect the complex real-time disease data streams vital for global health security compliance. The introduction of digital informatics tools will enable surveillance systems to collect data faster and more accurately, promising to stop outbreaks before they occur.

About ICAP

A major global health organization that has been improving public health in countries around the world for two decades, ICAP works to transform the health of populations through innovation, science, and global collaboration. Based at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, ICAP has projects in more than 40 countries, working side-by-side with ministries of health and local governmental, non-governmental, academic, and community partners to confront some of the world’s greatest health challenges. Through evidence-informed programs, meaningful research, tailored technical assistance, effective training and education programs, and rigorous surveillance to measure and evaluate the impact of public health interventions, ICAP aims to realize a global vision of healthy people, empowered communities, and thriving societies. Online at icap.columbia.edu