The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) is facing a potential shutdown after the government failed to allocate any funds for medical research in the 2025/2026 financial year, putting nearly 1,000 jobs and Kenya’s health research efforts at risk.

Speaking at the KEMRI Kilifi Centre, acting Director-General Elijah Sonkok and board chairperson Abdulahi Ali warned that the decision could cripple Kenya’s disease surveillance, vaccine development, diagnostics, and pandemic preparedness.

“The zero allocation puts Kenya’s disease surveillance, vaccine development, diagnostics, and pandemic response efforts in jeopardy,” said Ali.

The government only allocated Sh2.7 billion for salaries and other basic operations, leaving no budget for actual research activities.

Ali expressed deep concern about KEMRI’s dependence on donors, saying, “We get most of our money from donors. The government used to give us a little support for junior researchers, but even that has dried up. Of our 4,000 staff, the government only pays for 850. The rest depend entirely on project-based funding.”

Sonkok echoed the worry, pointing to the risks of over-reliance on foreign partners.

“Eighty per cent of our funding comes from external sources. When the US withdrew its support recently, we were left struggling. We’ve been pleading with the UK High Commissioner not to follow suit. If donor support dries up, institutions like KEMRI will collapse.”

Due to the shortfall, KEMRI has already suspended several research projects and clinical trials, including in key areas such as cancer.

Sonkok explained, “There is no funding for cancer research, for instance, because it is not within the priority areas of most of our donors. We have potential cancer treatments based on traditional medicine, but we can’t proceed with trials. We need Kenyan support for such homegrown solutions.”

To address the funding crisis, KEMRI is lobbying for a change in the Social Health Authority (SHA) Act to allocate 0.2 per cent of SHA’s KSh7 billion annual collection to medical research.

“We only need less than one per cent of SHA funds. Combined with donor contributions, we could develop sustainable solutions for the country. We’re calling on Kenyans to support us and back the amendment,” Sonkok said.

KEMRI has 15 research centres across the country, including in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, and Mandera. The Kilifi centre alone accounts for 40 per cent of the institute’s research output and played a key role in Kenya’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When the pandemic hit, it was KEMRI that first identified the virus in the country. We quickly developed diagnostic tools and therapeutics that were essential in the national response,” Sonkok said.

The officials warned that continued underfunding could cause irreversible damage to Kenya’s health systems. “KEMRI has many potential solutions lying idle. Without funding, they remain unused. This is not just a KEMRI crisis. It’s a national health emergency in the making,” Sonkok said.

Despite the challenges, the institute is pushing to be included in the 2026/2027 budget and is looking to partner with other organisations to keep operations going.