In 2024, Living Labs saw several achievements, including geographic expansion, new partnerships, and team growth. We have a lot to celebrate and are energized about our opportunities in 2025. Read on for highlights from 2025 and a look ahead at this year.
Expanded technical assistance to countries
The Living Labs team increased its technical assistance services, providing training and mentoring to PATH programs and partners, including the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), in Ethiopia and Nigeria. It combined virtual orientation, in-person training, and co-creation sessions, adapting tools for linguistic and cultural considerations. This resulted in locally trained human-centered design (HCD) facilitators and ministry-endorsed solutions.
Nigussie Terefe, from the CHAI Ethiopia team, walks stakeholders through the HCD process at a workshop in Addis Ababa. Living Labs provided technical assistance to CHAI and other stakeholders for immunization-related activities. Photo: PATH/Sue Wairimu.
Formal membership in the European Network of Living Labs
Through the European Network of Living Labs, PATH will be featured on the website, collaborate on other projects, and share knowledge with other living labs. PATH Living Labs is the only health-related living lab in Africa.
Strengthened immunization across Living Labs geographies
Beyond our efforts to increase immunization coverage, we collaborated with various partners and teams to advance microarray patch technology for measles and rubella vaccines, advocate for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine through art, understand user preferences in the delivery of vaccines to address the respiratory syncytial virus, analyzed costs for maintaining cold chain equipment, and guided the usability and functional requirements for immunization information systems.
PATH Living Labs sensitizes students at Arya Primary School in Kenya to the facts about the human papillomavirus vaccine. Photo: PATH/Chris Obong’o.
New staff specializing in gender and an office in the DRC
Living Labs strengthened its gender-responsive and inclusive design capabilities by welcoming a dedicated gender specialist to ensure gender considerations are integrated throughout our HCD work. Additionally, to address the challenges of children receiving vaccines in the remote parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Living Labs now has two specialists and a monitoring and evaluation lead in the Tshopo province (with more planned).
Kicked off the Large Language Model grant
As part of PATH’s broader AI efforts and with funding from the Gates Foundation's Global Health Division, we are advancing AI’s safe and ethical use. In 2024, we gathered a localized dataset from Kenyan nurses and engaged with clinicians for clinical decision support. We are creating a playbook to accelerate the creation of additional datasets to improve the accuracy and safety of AI use in low- and middle-income countries. Learn more.
Living Labs Design and Innovation Specialists, Grace Njenga and Stella Wanjiru, conduct a user experience study with Penda Health as part of the Large Language Model project. Photo: PATH/Wilkister Musau.
Reinforced connections with the Kenya Ministry of Health
Partnering with Kenya’s National Vaccines and Immunization Program and Division of Neonatal and Child Health, and PATH’s Early Childhood Development program, Living Labs showcased community-driven health care solutions through a national exhibition. The event demonstrated the impact of co-creation across primary health care, championed successful interventions like HPV advocacy, and directed national cross-learning of solutions.
Continued pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) research for HIV in Kenya
In 2024, Living Labs reimagined PrEP delivery, empowering self-care among young women and health care providers. The team’s research informed a groundbreaking online pharmacy model that reshapes how PrEP services can be delivered through telehealth in urban Kenya.
Added new investors
In 2024, two additional organizations joined the list of 27 others that have invested in the Living Labs open innovation ecosystem.
Looking ahead, our team is focused on expanding our capabilities and connections, growing strategic partnerships, delivering deep insights, and accelerating innovation that advances health equity.
Stay tuned for more updates on our projects and the release of our updated playbook!
