Prof. George Mutwiri, Executive Director at the School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, Canada delivers a public lecture at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi.
The University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Health Sciences, through the Department of Public and Global Health, hosted a public lecture on 11 February 2026 that challenged conventional thinking about health systems and leadership in the modern world.
The lecture, titled “Health in the 21st Century: A Systems Transformational Leadership Approach,” was delivered by Prof. George Mutwiri, Executive Director at the School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
The session brought together students, faculty, and health professionals to reflect on emerging global health challenges and the leadership approaches required to address them. The lecture aimed to increase awareness of health as a complex system, examine healthcare challenges using Canada as a case example, and introduce a leadership framework to stimulate discussion on health systems transformation.
Prof. Mutwiri emphasized that health extends far beyond healthcare services or the absence of disease. Drawing from global health perspectives, he highlighted that individual and community health outcomes are influenced by multiple interacting factors including environment, socio-economic status, education, genetics, and social relationships. This systems perspective aligns with global health thinking that health is shaped largely by circumstances and living conditions, not just access to medical care.
Using Canada’s healthcare system as a case study, the lecture examined the sustainability challenges facing modern health systems. Rising healthcare expenditure and increasing demand for services, particularly due to growing co-morbidities and ageing populations, demonstrate the need for a shift from treatment-focused models to broader health-focused strategies. The discussion underscored the need to rethink health systems to address root causes of poor health rather than focusing solely on disease management.
A key highlight of the lecture was the introduction of the LEADS leadership framework, an evidence-based model widely implemented in Canada and adopted in several countries globally. The framework focuses on five domains: leading self, engaging others, achieving results, developing coalitions, and driving systems transformation. The model positions leadership as a critical lever for change in complex health environments.
Prof. Mutwiri further noted that effective health system transformation requires systems thinking, innovation, strategic future orientation, and coordinated change management. He stressed that sustainable transformation should follow an evolutionary approach rather than abrupt system disruption, with a strong focus on long-term outcomes.
The lecture also challenged universities and academic institutions to play a central role in shaping future health systems by fostering dialogue, building leadership capacity, and supporting distributed leadership across organizations and sectors.
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