Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) is a State Corporation established through the Science and Technology (Amendment) Act of 1979, which has since been amended to Science, Technology and Innovation Act 2013. The 1979 Act established KEMRI as a National body responsible for carrying out health research in Kenya.
Neglected tropical diseases are often associated with social exclusion as well as physical suffering. One billion people around the world suffer from these diseases.
Every year, 1.7 billion people, most in the world’s poorest areas, are affected by NTDs. The diseases cause suffering, stigma, disability and sometimes death.
Moina Spooner, The Conversation and Ina Skosana, The Conversation
Natural disasters associated with climate change put people at risk of injury and death, and alter the prevalence and distribution of illnesses and infectious diseases.
Stigma and criminalisation of same-sex relationships makes it difficult for transgender women and men who have sex with men to seek preventive services. This compounds their risk for HIV infection.
African countries have proven that they have the skills and expertise to provide local solutions to this global pandemic. They need to build on this success together to keep the pandemic at bay.
In Kenya, the Spanish flu caused various forms of social and economic disruption, ranging from social distancing to the suspension of nonessential services and widespread food shortages.
Women must be included at decision making levels to advise on development, designing, delivery and implementation of tools that target health issues that affect them especially malaria.
Malaria is a major public health problem that affects 106 countries globally. A rigorous and systematic approach to predict and control malaria transmission is needed.
Cholera is caused by a lack of access to clean drinking water and unhygienic conditions. Misuse of antibiotics makes it difficult and expensive to treat outbreaks.
Chief Research Officer, Malaria Branch Chief in the KEMRI, CDC and London School of Tropical Medicine Collaborative Program, Kenya Medical Research Institute