Since his appointment in 2014 as Head of the Learning and Innovation Department at Muso, Dr. Youssouf Keïta has had a profound impact on health systems in both Mali and Côte d'Ivoire. Under his leadership, he has been responsible for designing and refining programmatic, clinical, and technical innovations that have transformed healthcare delivery. Through the development of cutting-edge digital tools and pioneering supervision strategies, Dr. Keïta has revolutionized care approaches, enhancing both efficiency and quality in health interventions across the region.
Head of the Learning and Innovation Department at Muso
To strengthen evidence-based decision-making and ensure data quality, Dr. Youssouf Keïta played a key role in developing cutting-edge digital tools. "We have played a pivotal role in the design, deployment, and implementation of the dedicated supervisor application and its accompanying visualization tools across five regions of Mali," Dr. Keïta explains. One of his most significant accomplishments is the rollout of the 360° supervision strategy, which has revolutionized care supervision in intervention areas.
Dr. Keïta has also led critical initiatives to improve healthcare access, particularly for women and children. Notable among these is a program designed to increase vaccination coverage for children aged 0 to 23 months and the implementation of Intermittent Preventive Therapy for Malaria during Pregnancy (IPTMP), aimed at boosting the uptake of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) among pregnant women. This initiative not only reduces the risk of mother-to-child malaria transmission but also lessens the disease’s impact on pregnancies.
He has integrated vaccination programs, IPTMP, and input management into the ProCCM model, while emphasizing the importance of a human-centered approach. "Sustainable impact comes from human-centered design, involving health workers and communities at every stage of the process," he stresses.
As the Regional Director of Innovation and Training, Dr. Keïta has been instrumental in implementing the Community Health Toolkit (CHT) in Mali. This data collection tool for Community Health Workers (CHWs) has become a national benchmark for deploying these agents.
The results of his efforts are clear: vaccination coverage for children has dramatically improved in intervention areas, with a reduction of more than 96% in the number of unvaccinated children within just one year. The implementation of community IPTMP in Bamako and Bankass is another success story, delivering vital care to local populations. His strategic vision and operational pragmatism have significantly strengthened health systems, including the supervision approach for CHWs, which the Malian government adopted and implemented in 2019.
These accomplishments underscore Dr. Youssouf Keïta's unwavering commitment to transforming health systems in Mali and West Africa, cementing his reputation as a key figure in public health across the region.