Healthcare infrastructure takes centre stage at Mawingu’s UNGA81 forum

Mawingu Foundation will host a high-level dialogue during the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) to explore how internet connectivity, reliable electricity and clinical technology can improve healthcare delivery in underserved communities.

The event, dubbed ‘Connect, Power, Heal: Bundling Innovation and Partnership at the Health Frontline’, is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at the UN Church Center in New York.

The 90-minute dialogue will bring together government leaders, healthcare practitioners, technology companies, development partners and financing institutions to discuss how infrastructure gaps can be addressed through integrated solutions.

The discussions will focus on three key areas: integrating connectivity, energy and clinical technology; developing sustainable financing models; and scaling successful healthcare interventions beyond individual facilities.

Mawingu Chief Executive Officer Farouk Ramji said healthcare transformation required more than technological solutions, noting that reliable infrastructure and strategic partnerships were critical to improving services at the grassroots.

“Healthcare transformation cannot be achieved through technology alone. Reliable internet connectivity, reliable energy, clinical technology and strong partnerships need to come together around the realities of the communities and health workers we are seeking to serve,” said Ramji.

“The opportunity before us is to move beyond fragmented interventions and build models that can be financed, implemented and scaled sustainably. This is the conversation we want to advance at UNGA81.”

According to the foundation, healthcare facilities in underserved areas often face multiple infrastructure challenges, including unreliable electricity and limited internet access to specialist medical support.

The organisation said such gaps could prevent healthcare workers from fully utilising clinical technologies and accessing timely assistance during medical procedures.

The dialogue comes a year after partners made commitments at the UN General Assembly to advance digital surgical capabilities and last-mile connectivity across sub-Saharan Africa.

Organisers say the meeting will examine progress made since those commitments and explore ways of moving from pilot projects to sustainable healthcare solutions.

Dr Shannon Shibata-Germanos, Head of Global Health at Proximie, said internet connectivity could help bridge gaps in access to specialist surgical services in remote areas.

“Reliable connectivity is what enables access to specialist surgical services in rural and underserved communities,” she said.

“Without it, a medical officer performing an emergency caesarean at two in the morning may have no real-time specialist mentorship and no second pair of eyes. Proximie can bring that support into the operating theatre, but only when there is a connection to carry it.”

Shibata-Germanos cited Mawingu's work connecting 17 healthcare facilities in Makueni County, alongside partnerships involving the Council of Governors, Amref Health Africa and the M-PESA Foundation.

“Mawingu has shown what dedicated last-mile connectivity can mean for public health facilities, beginning with 17 facilities in Makueni County,” she said.

She added that the partnership involving the M-PESA Foundation and Proximie had demonstrated the potential of combining connectivity with clinical technology at Kilifi County Referral Hospital.

“No single operator, funder or technology partner can do that alone. Connect, Power, Heal is about adding reliable power to that mix and making the model replicable, in East Africa and everywhere it is needed,” said Shibata-Germanos.

The forum will also examine how governments, investors, technology providers and healthcare organisations can move from individual projects to scalable and financially sustainable interventions.

Ramji said achieving scale would require a shift in how partnerships and investments in healthcare technology were structured.

“We need to move from isolated projects to models where technology providers, governments, investors and healthcare organisations can align around a shared outcome,” he said.

“The question is no longer whether these technologies can work. It is how we create the financing, infrastructure and partnerships that allow solutions that work to reach more facilities and more communities.”

The event is being convened by Mawingu under the auspices of the Health Innovation Exchange and in collaboration with the Council of Governors, M-PESA Foundation, Proximie, Amref Health Africa, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Lacuna Global Health, among other partners.

Mawingu Foundation is the social impact arm of Kenyan internet service provider Mawingu. Established in 2012 in Nanyuki, Mawingu provides internet connectivity to rural and peri-urban communities.

The company says it currently connects more than 35,000 homes and businesses across 31 counties in Kenya.