Epidemics and pandemics disproportionately affect populations with greater impacts on the most vulnerable and less resilient communities. Hence Kenya’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic calls for more context adapted public health measures reflecting our improved understanding of who is the most vulnerable and their geographical location. This policy brief presents evidence on localized vulnerability indices […]

Malaria is common in sub-Saharan Africa and kills thousands of children yearly. Interferon-gamma is produced to help fight against malaria, but high levels can induce reduced production of blood cells resulting in anaemia. Anaemia negatively affects the development of children and can cause low productivity and fatigue. Interferon-gamma also affects pathways involved in dietary iron […]

A deficiency of iron for normal body function is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. Iron deficiency is the main cause of anaemia and is associated with poor brain development and long-term impairment of behavioural and cognitive performance in children. Common symptoms of iron deficiency include pallor of the skin, eye and beds […]

What are the health and Socio-economic impacts of physical distancing in African countries and how can they be mitigated? This work reviews the health and Socio-economic effects of physical distancing restrictions in Africa and recommends that African countries need to consider the broader net benefit of measures that they choose to implement and to adapt and […]

The Kenya Medical Institute (KEMRI) celebrated its 40th anniversary on 10th February 2020. The celebration commemorated during the 10th KASH Conference brought together over 800 guests to celebrate 40 years of research excellence in Africa. In search for better health, KEMRI was established in 1979 through the Science and Technology Act. In 1989 through a […]

Policy makers are interested in knowing what practical steps to take to move towards a more gender-equitable and transformative health system. A new guide published by Research in Gender & Ethics (RINGs) is expected to help policy makers adopt a gender lens in policy deliberations on health systems. In order to prompt reflections on how […]

The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, HiTAP and iDSI organized a short course on Health Technology Assessment that took place between the 18th to 22nd November in Nairobi. The purpose of the course was to introduce participants to the concept of Universal health coverage, health financing and healthcare priority setting. More […]

KEMRI-Wellcome Trust participated in this year’s Equity Week between 11th and 15 November. Convened by the International Budget Partnership, Equity Week brings together stakeholders drawn from the national government, county government, community groups and other agencies to reflect on equity and equality issues particularly in resource mobilization and distribution in the country. There were two […]

Life-saving Instruction for Emergencies (LIFE), a virtual reality (VR) medical training platform developed by doctors, nurses and researchers at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in Kenya and Oxford University with support from HTC, was officially launched on 14th November 2019. LIFE allows healthcare workers to enter a realistic 3D virtual hospital on their own […]

Worldwide, almost half of childhood deaths occur in newborns (the first four weeks of life), totalling 2.5 million each year, with the highest risks and slowest progress in Africa. Currently around 28 in every 1,000 babies in Sub-Saharan Africa die in the first month of life. Hundreds of thousands of babies could be saved through […]