Achim Chiaji: Organizational Capacity Development Specialist

“I grew up in rural Nyanza province, which has some of the worst health indicators in Kenya,” says Achim Chiaji. “Through many years of working in the development sector, I always tried to understand what makes health work for the very poor and marginalized communities. I wanted to be part of the solution.”

Achim’s desire to solve problems led to an interest in health system strengthening. He is now an organizational capacity development specialist for IntraHealth’s Capacity Kenya Project. He manages a team that supports the health sector in human resource planning and policy. His team is involved in initiatives to build institutional capacity and to hire, motivate and monitor health workers’ performance.

“As a result of our project interventions, the government of Kenya has begun systematic decentralization of key hiring and selection decisions to the provincial and district health management teams,” notes Chiaji. “From receiving applications, short listing, interviews, and final selection decisions all done at the provincial level, the government has hired up to 6,700 using the Capacity Kenya mechanism—an unprecedented action.”

“I am a strong believer in people—the human factor that drives change processes in any system. Whereas this has been recognized in many institutional reform processes,” Chiaji explains, “the health sector has lagged behind.

“It’s a great niche for IntraHealth, and why I wanted to work here.”

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