Building bridges between law and public health in academia: a case study of Moi University

Abstract

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to have significant negative consequences in low and middle-income countries. Many African countries have been unable to effectively utilise NCD prevention and control policies because their legal and health personnel have often limited knowledge and skills for using relevant legal and policy frameworks in an impactful manner. Law and public health programmes in universities within East Africa rarely tackle legal and regulatory NCD prevention and control measures as part of the necessary interventions against NCDs and their risk factors, including unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. There is often minimal to no inter-faculty academic interaction between law and public health disciplines, leading to a fragmented approach to NCD prevention and control. To address these challenges, a number of academic initiatives have been undertaken in the region to improve multidisciplinary academic engagement on legal approaches to NCD prevention and control. For instance, a multidisciplinary Academic Working Group (AWG) was created within select universities in East Africa with a view to, among others, enhancing the capacity of law and public health academics in East Africa to deliver programmes that integrated legal approaches to NCD prevention and control. A toolkit on regulatory approaches to NCDs in East Africa was developed to provide a resource for the incorporation of law and NCDs in university curricula, and trainings were provided to academics from law and public health departments to enhance their capacity at the intersection between law and public health. This paper uses the experience of Moi University to explore the role of academic institutions in strengthening the capacities of legal and public health graduates to promote physical activity and healthy diets in Africa. It also discusses the potential role of higher education institutions in building bridges between law and public health disciplines in the prevention and control of NCDs.