Exchange
“Dean’s talk”: Visitor from Kenia at lecture series on efficient use of resources in medicine
Brandenburg an der Havel, 4 May 2026
University hospitals are under increasing pressure worldwide: Growing demands on research, teaching and patient care on the one hand, and scarce human and material resources on the other. Prof. Dr. Daniel Ojuka, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences / University of Nairobi, accepted an invitation from Prof. Dr. Konrad Schmidt, director of the Institute of General Medicine at the Brandenburg Medical School Theodore Fontane (MHB), and attended the MHB lecture series on efficient use of resources in medicine on Thursday, 23 April 2026. The visit was part of the exchange program Berlin-Nairobi Global HEART between Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin School of Public Health (BSPH) and the University of Nairobi (UoN).
The delegation obtained insights into the MHB research structure on the Campus Brandenburg an der Havel. A visit to the local university hospital (UKB) served to convey impressions of clinical routines on site, such as at the department of gynecology and obstetrics directed by Prof. Dr. Svetlana Tchaikovski, and in dialogue with UKB medical director Prof. Dr. Roland Becker.
The highlight of the visit was the concluding panel discussion – joined by dean Prof. Dr. Christine Holmberg and Prof. Dr. Thomas Stamm as vice dean for curricular and student affairs – on “How to succeed in Global University Medicine with limited resources?”. Cyrus Kimanthi from the University of Nairobi and Stefanie Niewiem from the Charité Global Health Program acted as presenters.
The focus of the debate was on the potential of scarce resources as a catalyst for innovation and interdisciplinary organization. A speedy translational transfer of research findings to clinical practice might help to make the best possible use of remaining resources apart from and beyond over or undersupply – a notion of “smart medicine”. In addition, participants discussed community-based care concepts from Kenia and their possible transferability to German contexts. One topic was the concept of task-shifting which is common practice in Kenia and facilitates new approaches in patient care but involves qualitative challenges. A collaboration project with Kenian medical students is in the planning stage as a result of the visit.
For more information, please contact the MHB Institute of General Medicine:
Institut für Allgemeinmedizin der MHB
Prof. Dr. Konrad Schmidt
E-Mail: konrad.schmidt@mhb-fontane.de