From Vaccine Independence to Environmental Health: Kenya Charts Integrated Strategy Against Infectious Diseases

By James Nyaigoti,

Kenya’s drive toward vaccine self-reliance and stronger disease prevention frameworks gained renewed momentum during Day Two of the KEMRI Annual Scientific and Health (KASH) Conference, where government leaders, scientists and international researchers converged to address vaccine manufacturing, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), environmental health and child mortality.
Delivering a keynote address, Kenneth Mwige, Director General and Secretary to the Board of the Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat, framed health as the backbone of economic productivity and national stability. He noted that counties receive approximately KSh 7 billion annually for health services, underscoring the need for improved infrastructure, better service delivery and modern standards of care.

Mwige emphasized that Africa must reduce its dependency on imported vaccines, recalling how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed global supply inequities.
He highlighted Africa’s target of achieving 60% vaccine manufacturing capacity by 2040 and pointed to Kenya’s establishment of the Kenya BioVax Institute as a strategic move toward self-sufficiency. Vaccines, he said, have saved more than 150 million lives globally in the past 50 years, significantly reducing child mortality and lowering long-term healthcare costs.

A central theme of the discussions was antimicrobial resistance, which experts warned is increasingly contributing to preventable deaths, particularly among children. Dr. Ombeva Malande described vaccination as a critical tool in reducing infections and minimizing antibiotic overuse a key driver of drug resistance.
Adding a global research perspective, Prof. Amy Pickering of the University of California, Berkeley, stressed the importance of environmental interventions in disease prevention. Drawing from over 15 years of collaboration with KEMRI, she explained that unsafe water, poor sanitation and environmental contamination contribute significantly to the spread of enteric pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
She noted that preventive strategies including vaccination, improved water quality and sanitation are not only cost-effective but essential in protecting children from early-life exposure to harmful pathogens that can have lifelong health consequences.
Speakers repeatedly called for stronger coordination between academia, research institutions, industry and government to accelerate implementation of existing solutions. Rather than generating more policy papers, leaders urged immediate action to close gaps and operationalize Kenya’s scientific capacity.

The conference reaffirmed Kenya’s ambition to remain a regional and global leader in health research and innovation. As the country advances its Vision 2030 development agenda, experts agreed that integrating vaccine manufacturing, environmental health reform and antimicrobial resistance control will be crucial to strengthening national and continental health security.

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