KEMRI to receive a major facelift, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe confirms

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Thursday announced that the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) was due for a face lift.

Speaking shortly after meeting with a group of donors from Japan, the CS disclosed that plans were underway to upgrade the status of the research facility.

"The government will commit substantial resources to the medical research body KEMRI to make it a premier capacity building institution in the region," CS Kagwe stated.

Currently, the KEMRI facility in Kilifi is conducting genomic sequencing of the Covid-19 virus on behalf of the East African region.

CS Kagwe did not, however, disclose the details of the upcoming revamp.

Testing Kits Donation

CS Kagwe also received a donation of testing kits from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

"The fight against Covid-19 in Kenya received a boost today after Japan International Cooperation Agency donated 75,000 PCR kits to KEMRI to boost the laboratory’s capacity for COVID-19 testing. Health CS Mutahi Kagwe welcomed the donation saying it will enhance the country’s testing capacity especially with the discovery of new variants.

"Japan’s ambassador to Kenya Horie Ryoichi expressed his government’s commitment for fair and equal deployment of Covid-19 doses across the world as witnessed during the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment Summit where Japan pledged to contribute a further 800M USD to support the cause," a statement from the Ministry of Health read.