Kenya receives nearly 12 per cent of all vaccine research and development funding allocated to Africa, according to a new analysis.
That places it second only to South Africa, which receives 38 per cent of all funding for vaccine development in Africa.
Kenya also hosted 100 vaccine clinical trials in the last 16 years, making it the continent’s second-largest trial hub, according to the 2007-2024 data from the International Vaccine Institute (IVI).
The IVI notes Kenya’s leadership in vaccine development is now under threat because of changing global funding patterns, yet the country has not increased its own contribution.
The IVI, in a report titled “A landscape analysis of the vaccine ecosystem in Africa”, notes 95 per cent of vaccine research funding in Africa comes from outside the continent, mainly from the United States and the European Union.
Kenya is largely absent from the small group of African countries putting domestic money into vaccine research.
“Twenty nine of the 55 African Union member states received funding for vaccine research and development (between 2007-2023). The country receiving the largest proportion of vaccine funding was South Africa ($266·04 million), followed by Kenya ($83·43 million), Tanzania at 8·29 per cent ($57·85 million), Burkina Faso 7·34 per cent ( $51·24 million), Ghana 6·61 per cent ($46·13 million), and Uganda 6·58 per cent ($45·89 million).”
Africa as a whole receives less than 2 per cent of global vaccine research and development funding, the study shows.
“Reported data show that Africa received less than two per cent of global vaccine research and development funding, with most funding concentrated in South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania,” the report indicates. It is published in the Lancet Global Health journal.
Ondari Mogeni, an IVI’s public health specialist, and colleagues assessed clinical trial activity (2007–2024) with data from multiple sources.
Disease burden context was provided by the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, and regulatory maturity levels were obtained from WHO’s list of National Regulatory Authorities.
Their findings also show that Africa accounts for only eight per cent of global vaccine clinical trials included sites in Africa.
The study found the top five countries by net clinical trial count over 16 years were South Africa (200), Kenya (100), Mali (60), Uganda (56), and Tanzania (46).
These figures show that Kenya is not only a major recipient of research money but also an active location for testing new vaccines for diseases that hit Africa hardest, including malaria, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, and Covid-19.
The United States provided 56·28 per cent ($392·56 million) of all vaccine research and development funds to Africa, followed by the European Union with 29·88 per cent ($208·43 million) during this period. South Africa itself accounted for 4·34 per cent ($30·26 million), while Germany supplied 3·31 per cent ($23·07 million) and the United Kingdom 3·10 per cent ($21·63 million)
Experts said external funding has played a valuable role in building Kenya’s research footprint. But Kenya’s own contribution to vaccine research is still small, and that leaves the country exposed when donors change course.
For example, the then Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) Director General Prof Elijah Songok last year reported that US funding cuts affected about 40 per cent of Kemri’s programmes, putting many jobs and studies at risk.
In one case, foreign support for an HIV vaccine search by Kemri, a five-year Usaid grant, was suspended abruptly last year.
“Our findings highlight the need for better vaccine data in Africa and the opportunity to build on existing strengths to reach enhanced sovereignty and resilient health systems,” the IVI researchers said.
They said funding also flows unevenly through the stages of vaccine research. Most money goes to early work before vaccine approval.
The pre-licensure phase accounted for 47·86 per cent ($333·84 million) of all R&D funding to Africa. Phase 2 trials received 11·23 per cent ($78·31 million), while phase 3 trials got 10·69 per cent ($74·55 million). Post-licence studies received a much smaller share, just 5·63 per cent ($39·24 million).
The picture that emerges is one where Africa plays a part in global research but does not control its own research priorities or funding flows.
This matters because the diseases that receive most attention, such as malaria, HIV/Aids, and Covid-19, reflect global interest as much as Africa’s own health needs.
Other diseases that cause big health problems in Kenya and elsewhere, such as Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, meningitis, syphilis, and schistosomiasis, get far less research funding.
Public health experts say the solution is greater investment from African countries, backed with stable and long-term funding commitments. Kenya is already making moves in this direction.
The Kenya BioVax Institute, part of the government’s plans to build domestic vaccine production capacity, has submitted reports and feasibility studies aimed at creating a “smart vaccine manufacturing facility” in the country.
This project, developed with partners including the International Vaccine Institute and other international firms, is part of Kenya’s strategy to reduce dependence on imported vaccines and external research money.
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The government has also been in active discussions with global partners and is positioning Kenya as a site for advanced vaccine manufacturing under its bio-manufacturing strategy. Plans for a USD 250 million vaccine manufacturing plant at Konza Technopolis are part of this effort.
by JOHN MUCHANGI
