By John Toris 

The 16th KEMRI Annual Scientific and Health (KASH) Conference opened today in Nairobi, with top health leaders stating that Kenya’s medical future depends on technology, local manufacturing, and strong science. The conference, organized by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), runs from Tuesday, February 10th, to Friday, February 13th, at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.

Cabinet Secretary for Health Aden Duale officially opened the event, which carries the theme: “The Future of Health: Scientific Research, Innovations, Technologies and Manufacturing for a Resilient Universal Health Coverage.” In his speech, CS Duale connected the theme directly to the government’s plans.

“This theme speaks directly to where we stand today as a country,” Duale told the gathering of scientists, researchers, and health partners. He explained that discussions on vaccines, technology, and financing are “not academic, but are very strategic investments in our future.”

A major part of his address focused on the government’s push for a fully digital health system. He held up his mobile phone and announced a practical success. “Today from my phone here, I can tell the bed occupancy of all our private, public, and faith-based hospitals,” he said. He credited a digital tool called the Bed Access Rule for solving the long-standing crisis of hospital overcrowding.

“That’s why you see now very few Kenyans sleep on the floor of a hospital,” Duale stated. He explained the new financial rule: if a hospital makes patients sleep on the floor or puts two people in one bed, the Social Health Authority (SHA) will not pay the bill. He gave the example of Kenyatta National Hospital, which he said used to admit over 2,200 patients despite having only 1,800 beds. “Today they have 1,800 patients when they are full,” he said, because the digital system now prevents over-admission.

CS Duale outlined the four pillars of the government’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) plan: sustainable financing, a strong healthcare workforce, reliable medicine supplies, and a digital health ecosystem. “We want to build a health system that is accessible, that is affordable, that is efficient, and that is locally anchored,” he said.

Other leaders echoed the call for a self-reliant health future. KEMRI’s Acting Director General, Prof. Elijah Songok, stressed that making vaccines in Kenya is now critical for safety and the economy. “Vaccine research, development, and manufacturing are no longer optional scientific pursuits,” he said. “They are pillars of national health security, industrial and innovation policy, economic resilience, and self-reliance.”

The KEMRI Board Chair, Dr. Abdullahi Ali, emphasized that strong local research is the only path forward. “The future of health systems will be determined by the strength of research ecosystems, innovation pipelines, and the capacity to manufacture solutions locally,” he observed.

The Conference Chair, Dr. Cecilia Mbae, explained that the meeting was designed to turn ideas into action. She said it was “deliberately designed to bridge science to policy, innovation to impact, and research to real-world solutions.”

The conference brings together Kenya’s top health minds for four days of discussions on how science and technology can create a healthier, more resilient nation for all.