Chris Mwase

Project Manager - Viral Load Results Return

I am a strong advocate for impactful, cost-effective and sustainable digital health innovations that align with the strategic objectives of a country’s healthcare system.  I hold an MSc in Health Informatics from the University of Leeds and a BSc in Environmental Health (Public Health) from the University of Malawi.  

I have worked for the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) in various capacities for over 8 years. I have experience in program management, managing large grants from UINTAID and UNICEF. I have also led diverse teams at CHAI both as a Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager.  

I also have experience in management and frontline deployment of digital health technologies since 2011. Until September 2019, I managed the team that deployed and supported the Laboratory Information Management System for HIV Early Infant Diagnosis and Viral Load (EID/VL LIMS) at 10 national laboratories in Malawi. Due to successful implementation, the system is being scaled up to all district hospital laboratories and has a national dashboard. I was also a member of the national taskforce working on the integration of EID/VL LIMS and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) to expedite delivery of patient results. I also deployed Results160 in collaboration with UNICEF which delivered EID results to mobile phones and SMS printers at over 600 clinics across Malawi. Furthermore, I have implemented data aggregation from remote point-of-care clinical diagnostic devices to a dashboard hosted at the HIV/AIDS Department in Lilongwe.  

In addition, I have extensive expertise in strengthening clinical laboratory systems for the Malawi Ministry of Health (MOH). I have evaluated and scaled up different clinical diagnostic devices in the context of implementation research and I have shared lessons learned with major donors including UNITAID, Global Fund, PEPFAR and MedAccess. I have also implemented quality assurance systems, conducted trainings and managed supply chain for different laboratory commodities. I have facilitated Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) between MOH and manufacturers of diagnostic equipment with the goal of expanding access to life-saving tests.  Recently, I was the lead technical assistant in the development of the 2019-2020 VL and EID scale up plan for MOH which is a US$65million investment.  

As a digital health enthusiast, I have supported the publication of key digital health guidance documents in collaboration with colleagues from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other organizations, specifically: A practical guide for enganging with mobile network operators in mHealth for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and The MAPS toolkit: mHealth assessment and planning for scale. I just concluded a systematic review on The role of digital health in palliative care for people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. I recently became a member of the Global Digital Health Network and I am open to collaborating with the global community to improve healthcare through digital health.