- The centre is equipped with a state-of-the-art laboratory and is expected to bolster the country’s efforts to fight the deadly disease.
- Japanese ambassador to Kenya Ken Okaniwa said the facility will play a part in coming up with solutions aimed at reducing the impact that malaria.
Image: HANDOUT
Mount Kenya University has launched the Malaria Elimination Centre at its main Campus in Thika.
The centre is equipped with a state-of-the-art laboratory and is expected to bolster the country’s efforts to fight the deadly disease.
The facility has been set up with assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency. MKU won a Sh450 million malaria research grant jointly with Osaka City University of Japan awarded by JICA.
The two institutions are expected to undertake research on elimination of malaria in Homa Bay county.
Osaka City University will take Sh150 million and MKU Sh300 million for research and training.
The funds were used in setting up the malaria unit at MKU.
Japanese ambassador to Kenya Ken Okaniwa said the facility will play a part in coming up with solutions aimed at reducing the impact that malaria has on human health over the next decade.
“I have visited the project site in Homa Bay county and I have been briefed about the challenges and what is the situation that is confronting the residents of the county,” he said when he spoke during the centre's launch.
Through the Sustainable Development Goals the world aims to eradicate malaria as a health threat by 2030.
"The difficulty of malaria is not just about medicine but also the mosquitoes and the housing so people have to know what to do to fight the disease,” Okaniwa said.
“It is quite a complex challenge and it is disheartening to know that there continues to be so many people who suffer from the disease and it has had a heavy toll on the lives of many while causing untimely death to many people.”
Vice chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi said the facility will enable MKU to enhance research that it is already undertaking on malaria.
He noted that the university has already made major strides through research efforts aimed at unraveling the complexities of malaria immunity in children and pregnant women.
The work is expected to further deepen understanding of human immune response to malaria but also pave the way for targeted interventions that can protect the most vulnerable populations.
“In addition, the researchers are investigating antimalarial drug resistance, a growing concern in the global fight against malaria. By studying the mechanisms of resistance, we thus strive to develop new strategies and therapies that can overcome this challenge and ensure the efficacy of available treatments,” he said.
“Furthermore, we have dedicated teams working on the development and evaluation of malaria diagnostic kits. The production of these innovation-driven diagnostic tools, will provide accurate and rapid diagnosis, enabling timely treatment and preventing the spread of the disease.”
Iwama Hajime, chief representative of JICA, said the launch of the facility marked an important milestone in JICA’s joint efforts towards health systems strengthening in Kenya.
“This project for interdisciplinary research for an integrated community-directed strategy for sustainable freedom from malaria is therefore part of our important contribution to building resilience of the health system,” he said.
“The cutting-edge laboratory being launched today is a significant milestone in our commitment to combat malaria. I am confident that through the collaborative efforts of dedicated researchers at Mt Kenya University, KEMRI and Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan, we are poised to achieve groundbreaking advancements in malaria research and elimination strategies.
The Malaria Control Programme of the Ministry of Health and the County Government of Homa Bay will remain instrumental in translating the research outcomes into action at community level.
MKU pro-chancellor Dr Vincent Gaitho said the centre marked a key step towards advancing scientific research and transforming healthcare in Kenya.
“This laboratory represents a significant milestone in our relentless pursuit of excellence, innovation and societal impact,"he said.
"It is a grand statement on the power of collective vision, collaborative effort and a sincere determination. We have come together as a community, driven by a shared purpose—to alleviate the burden of disease, eradicate malaria and revolutionize healthcare in our region. Thus, hats-off to the winning team of researchers that brought forth this victory to MKU and Kenya and the region.”
“This centre among others will be an incubation for innovative and cutting-edge research while also being a catalyst for collaboration, patents, interdisciplinary learning and commercialisation of human health-related services and products.”