KENYA MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Their core work

KEMRI is Kenya's national public health and biomedical research institution, conducting infectious disease research, epidemiological studies, and clinical trials across East Africa. In H2020, they contributed as a clinical trial site for a Phase 1 salmonella vaccine study and as an African field research partner for social science work on human security and displacement. Their core value to international consortia is access: to African patient populations, established field research infrastructure, and ethical/regulatory frameworks for conducting research in sub-Saharan Africa. They bridge European scientific capacity with African epidemiological realities — a combination that cannot be replicated by European partners alone.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

KEMRI's early H2020 engagement (2018) was through an MSCA training network focused on anthropology and human security — broad social science themes including conflict, refugees, urbanization, and gender in Africa, where KEMRI contributed institutional presence and contextual expertise. By 2019, their participation shifted sharply toward biomedical science, specifically a vaccine efficacy trial for invasive non-typhoidal salmonella, which reflects their core institutional mandate in infectious disease and clinical research. The trajectory suggests that their ANTHUSIA involvement was peripheral (third party, no direct EC funding), while Vacc-iNTS represents a deeper, funded commitment aligned with what KEMRI actually does at its core.

KEMRI appears to be deepening its role as a clinical trial and infectious disease research site within EU-funded consortia, moving away from peripheral social science partnerships toward funded biomedical participation — making them an increasingly viable partner for global health vaccine and therapeutics projects.

How they like to work

KEMRI has never led an H2020 project, appearing only as a participant or third party — consistent with how African institutions typically engage in EU research: as field sites and data providers rather than consortium coordinators. Despite only two projects, they accumulated 36 unique partners across 13 countries, which indicates they participate in large, well-networked international consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. This suggests other European institutions seek them out specifically for their African field access, not the other way around.

KEMRI has connected with 36 unique consortium partners across 13 countries through just two projects — an unusually dense network for such limited H2020 participation. Their geographic footprint spans Europe and Africa, reflecting their role as a bridge institution linking EU-based research teams to East African field capacity.

What sets them apart

KEMRI is one of the very few African national research institutes with direct H2020 participation, giving them a rare position as a credible, institutionally recognized field research partner in sub-Saharan Africa within the EU project ecosystem. For consortia targeting diseases, populations, or social conditions specific to Africa — salmonellosis, malaria, displacement, climate vulnerability — KEMRI provides access that no European partner can substitute. They carry established ethical review, regulatory standing, and patient cohort infrastructure that takes decades to build, making them a genuine strategic asset rather than a symbolic geographic inclusion.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Vacc-iNTS
  The only directly funded H2020 project (EUR 107,575), involving a Phase 1 clinical vaccine trial running through 2026 — KEMRI's clearest demonstration of clinical trial execution capacity in an EU-funded context.
• ANTHUSIA
  An MSCA Innovative Training Network spanning 2018-2022, where KEMRI served as a third-party partner providing African context for doctoral research on conflict, displacement, and human security — evidence of their interdisciplinary reach beyond biomedical science.