Conference “ODESS: Celebrating a decade of commitment to Digital Health” October 15th 2026

Dr. Smisha Agarwal specializes in strengthening primary health care through community health systems and digital innovation. Her work has informed guidance from the World Health Organization, donor investments, and national digital health strategies globally.

Interested in the use of digital technology from the early years of his medical studies, he has strengthened his skills in the field through several degree programs, including a PhD. He has solid experience in the formulation and implementation of national strategies, the development of tailored tools, as well as the evaluation of e-health projects. Through his teaching, research, and advisory activities, he constantly works to build stakeholder capacity and support the structured development of digital health, particularly in Africa.

Dr. Darin Areechokchai is a medical epidemiologist with over two decades of experience in public health. She completed her training through the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) and holds a Master of Clinical Tropical Medicine. Her technical expertise is recognized through a fellowship in Public Health Emergency Management with the U.S. CDC. Throughout her career, Dr. Darin has held leadership roles in communicable disease surveillance, spearheading responses to critical health threats including pandemic influenza and COVID-19. Her landmark contributions to public health include developing digital disease surveillance systems for national notifiable diseases and leading outbreak investigations. On an international level, she serves as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination, contributing her expertise to regional disease elimination strategies.

Fatou Fall is an international expert in the digital transformation of health systems, with over 20 years of experience in information technology, enterprise architecture, and digital health. She has led strategic programs in more than 25 African countries, supporting Ministries of Health, regional organizations, and technical and financial partners in strategy definition, governance, interoperability, as well as the design, implementation, and scaling of digital solutions tailored to national contexts. Her expertise spans enterprise architecture (TOGAF), interoperability standards (HL7 FHIR, OpenHIE), data governance, cybersecurity, change management, and capacity building. She also works on health data, artificial intelligence applied to health, and digital innovation, promoting sustainable, user-centered approaches adapted to African realities.

Steven Wanyee is a formally trained biomedical and health informatics professional and a digital health practitioner with over 28 years practising experience and expertise. During this time, he has supported more than 25 Ministries of Health in Africa to develop digital health policies, strategies, and various standards and guidelines to support their digital transformation in health journeys. He has designed, developed and led teams comprising diverse professionals in implementing digital interventions, services and applications in health predominantly in Africa. Steven runs a digital health engineering development firm, IntelliSOFT Consulting Limited based out of Nairobi which he founded in 2007. He is the Founder Secretary General of the Kenya Health Informatics Association, and the Immediate Outgoing President of HEalth INformatics in Africa, HELINA.

Thomas has pioneered an era of expanded reach, scale and impact for child-centered innovations worldwide in close collaboration with private sector and government leaders worldwide. Thomas spearheads a radical reinvention of the UNICEF Innovation team as a core change catalyst for UNICEF’s impact globally, and harnesses the indomitable energy and deep expertise of his team to spot innovations that offer transformational potential for children, from data science to AI, blockchain, innovative finance constructs or innovative products to be picked up, co-created and scaled with the expertise and support from young innovators and partners across public and private sectors, so that, together, we create global social goods that advance humanity. Before assuming his current role, Thomas served UNICEF in leaderships role across the Balkans, South Asia, and the Middle East, and served as Head of Mission for country offices in Thailand and Algeria.