By Jameson
Kenya is accelerating efforts to manufacture its own vaccines while scientists intensify research into drug-resistant infections killing newborns, positioning prevention at the centre of the country’s long-term health strategy.
Speaking on Day Two of the 16th Annual KEMRI Annual Scientific and Health (KASH) Conference, Director General of the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat, Kenneth Mwige, said vaccine self-reliance is no longer optional following lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We realised during COVID-19 that we cannot depend on others for something as critical as vaccines,” Mwige said. “Health is a key enabler of economic productivity. If citizens are sick, the country cannot grow.”
Kenya has set an ambitious target of locally manufacturing up to 60 per cent of its vaccine needs by 2040. Mwige noted that the government has already established the Kenya Biovax Institute — a public-private partnership — to spearhead vaccine production, beginning with fill-and-finish processes before scaling up to full manufacturing.
Citing global data, he said vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past 50 years, including an estimated 110 million children. “If we immunise early, we prevent disease, reduce pressure on our health system and save billions in downstream healthcare costs,” he added.
Mwige called for stronger collaboration between researchers, industry, academia and government to close gaps in the health ecosystem.
“We do not need more workshops. We need to implement the solutions we already have,” he said.
Prevention Beyond Vaccines
The conference also highlighted complementary prevention strategies, particularly in water, sanitation and infection control.
Professor Amy Pickering of the University of California, Berkeley, whose laboratory has collaborated with KEMRI for 15 years, underscored the role of environmental health in curbing infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
“Vaccines are incredibly cost-effective, but they must be complemented by improved water, sanitation and infection prevention,” she said. “Reducing exposure to pathogens early in life reduces the need for antibiotics, which in turn limits the emergence of resistant bacteria.”
Pickering is leading research in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya and Migori counties to design cost-effective infection prevention programmes in rural health facilities. The interventions include automated chlorination of water supplies and improved surface disinfection systems.
She noted that hospital-acquired infections, particularly in neonatal units, remain a global challenge.
“Even in very clean settings, preventing transmission is extremely difficult. That’s why innovative, locally adapted solutions are critical,” she said.
The Neonatal AMR Crisis
Among the most urgent concerns raised at the conference was the growing threat of drug-resistant infections in newborns.
Dr Anne Amulele, a postdoctoral researcher at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, presented findings from long-term surveillance studies showing that Klebsiella pneumoniae — a highly resistant bacterium — is a leading cause of infections in neonatal units across Kenya.
At Kilifi County Hospital alone, researchers record between 30 and 40 neonatal Klebsiella infections annually, with mortality rates exceeding 20 per cent. Similar outbreaks have been documented at Mbagathi Hospital, in Kiambu County and in other public facilities, including one outbreak that affected 29 babies within a single month.
“These babies are extremely vulnerable,” Dr Amulele said. “They are born with immature immune systems, and the bacteria they encounter in hospitals are often multidrug-resistant, leaving doctors with very limited treatment options.”
Overcrowding, limited diagnostic capacity and resource constraints in public hospitals complicate outbreak detection and containment. Blood culture testing — the standard diagnostic tool — is costly and often challenging in newborns due to the small blood volumes required.
To address the crisis, researchers are exploring the development of a maternal vaccine targeting the most common Klebsiella pneumoniae strains. The strategy would involve immunising pregnant women so they can pass protective antibodies to their babies through the placenta and breast milk.
“The idea is to protect the baby from birth, at the stage when they are most vulnerable,” Dr Amulele explained. Genomic studies are currently underway to identify dominant bacterial strains ahead of potential vaccine development.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear a disproportionate share of global child mortality. In 2022, the region accounted for 57 per cent of all under-five deaths worldwide — an estimated 2.8 million deaths (ranging between 2.5 and 3.3 million) — despite contributing only 30 per cent of global live births.
WHO data further show that sub-Saharan Africa recorded the highest neonatal mortality rate globally, at 27 deaths per 1,000 live births. This was followed by central and southern Asia, where the neonatal mortality rate stood at 21 deaths per 1,000 live births.
