FEATURE: EDUCATION
Professor Muliaro Wafula, Director of ICT, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
to alleviate the need for government
spending in many areas of public
welfare. For example, the university
has already created a mobile app
based on its research into nutrition
for young children, which advises
families about how best to feed
infants under two years.
Professor Wafula explains: “99% of
people have mobile access in our
country, so this is a brilliant way to
deliver research findings into the
hands of regular citizens. A mother
with the equivalent of two dollars
in her pocket might struggle with
decisions – should she buy special
baby food for her infant, or try to save
money by giving it the same food as
the rest of the family?
“Our mobile app advises her how
best to provide a nutritious meal for
her young child, while still having
money left over to feed the rest of
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the family. Over time, we hope to
upgrade the app with new research
data that cover the nutritional needs
of children from all age groups.”
Already, Jomo Kenyatta University
of Agriculture and Technology is
receiving requests to use its data
from researchers across Kenya – and
even further afield.
the best decisions for their families
and improving people’s health and
welfare across Kenya and beyond.” ¡
IBM solution components
included:
IBM API Connect™
IBM® Bluemix®
“We have seen interest from people
in Gabon and Ivory Coast,” notes
Professor Wafula. “Because the IBM
solution is cloud-based, our data sets
can be shared across Africa – driving
collaboration on a continental level.
IBM Bluemix Mobile App
Builder
IBM dashDB™
IBM DataWorks
“By preserving and sharing data
on the IBM platform, we can truly
maximise its value and drive research
forward. In turn, this can help us
make life better for ordinary citizens
by delivering the resulting knowledge
into their hands – helping them make
IBM DevOps for Bluemix
IBM SDK for Node.js
for Bluemix.
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