Interests
Wambui Karanja
Project Manager
We need to address myths on dementia to reduce the stigma.
Current Work
Wambui is a Project Manager at the Brain and Mind Institute, Aga Khan University, Nairobi and has extensive experience in dementia care and advocacy. She has actively contributed to initiatives addressing this critical health issue. At the Brain and Mind Institute, Wambui manages projects that focus on dementia risk reduction, culturally relevant cognitive assessments and dementia care and education for people with dementia and their caregivers.
Wambui is also an engaged member of the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART), where she has co-chaired the Low and Middle-Income Countries Workgroup within the Diversities and Disparities PIA.
Personal Hero
Her father
Words of Strength
Building networks
Vision
To reduce the scale and impact of dementia, we need to increase the understanding of dementia through awareness initiatives that address risk factors of dementia. We also need to address myths on dementia to reduce stigma.
Strategy
Wambui is currently working to tailor awareness initiatives to fit the Kenyan context. She's doing so by creating relevant resources about brain health using a language that is simple and addresses myths about age related neuro-degenerative disorders.
Impact
As an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, Wambui has developed a greater understanding of the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers and the available resources to support them better. She also understands the roles that different disciplines can play in advancing the quality of care of people with dementia.
Motivation
Wambui's primary goal is to advance the understanding of dementia and foster collaborative communities for brain health and dementia in Africa. The priority is increasing awareness of dementia in Kenya and providing skills to family caregivers of persons with dementia to better support people with dementia.
Education & Experience
Wambui holds a B.A in Psychology from Kenyatta University in Kenya. She is an Alumni of Young African Leaders initiative Regional Leadership Center East Africa and former graduate attaché at the British Institute in Eastern Africa.
Her background includes leadership roles in the Dementia Education Exchange Program (DEEPIK) at the Alzheimer's and Dementia Organization Kenya (ADOK) and research on perceptions of dementia among informal caregivers in Nairobi during her graduate attachment at the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Together with Dr Kirsten Bobrow, Wambui leads the Africa Brain Health Dashboard project, with a goal to shift narratives on data and brain health on the African continent.
Podcasts
Voyage Around My Brain: Wambui Karanja, Primrose Nyamayaro and Funmi Akindejoye
How is Brain Health Managed in Africa?
Featured Publications
News
Send
Wambui
a Note
