The Ministry of Health has launched the Kenya National Public Health Institute (KNPHI), an initiative aimed at building a coordinated, research-driven, and resilient public health system that links disease surveillance.
Speaking at the launch held at Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Health Aden Duale said the institute was expected to handle disease response, resilience and emergencies at all levels and environmental protection issues.
“This institute is a unified platform that will prioritize public health needs, guide national policy through research, and coordinate emergency response that aligns with Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda and Universal Health Coverage goals,” said Duale.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to building a resilient health system that not only protects but also empowers the citizens while reflecting on lessons learned from Covid-19 and Ebola pandemics.
The CS announced that 13 core public health divisions among them surveillance, emergency operations, and national laboratories would be transferred to KNPHI, a transition he noted would be guided by Legal Notice No. 14 of January 2022 and finalized in 2025 through a multi-agency task force.
The Environment Principal Secretary Eng. Festus Ng’eno said a clean environment is a basic health right and called for stronger inter-ministerial coordination and highlighting of joint past efforts singling out asbestos removal and disaster forecasting.
Eng. Ng’eno appealed to global forums such as the WHO and the Plastics Treaty Initiative to recognize Nairobi’s leadership in linking environmental and health concerns.
Parliamentary Health Committee Chair Dr James Nyikal called for legal entrenchment of KNPHI and cautioned against dependence on revocable legal notices.
“Public health is the silent protector. Its successes are invisible, but its absence catastrophic,” he said, and advocated for increased investment in prevention and social determinants of health.
Dr Nyikal further recommended that health research should receive equal attention as the clinical medicine.
“If we prevent the disease, we don’t need the cure. That’s the value of public health research,” he said.
In his remarks, the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative Dr Abdourahmane Diallo lauded Kenya’s milestone, adding that Institute must have professional autonomy, skilled personnel, strong governance, and sustainable financing.
Dr. Diallo referred to public health as the breathing heart of a health system, vital for effective epidemic preparedness and policy development.
He however emphasized the need for multidisciplinary teams and learning from global outbreaks, adding, “We must not only respond well but start well. Kenya has planted a mighty tree, let us wire it with resources and leadership.”
Echoing the importance of localized responses, the Council of Governors Representative Dr David Ndegwa underscored the need for strong county integration, noting that counties were the first line of defence in outbreak response.
“The success of KNPHI hinges on timely detection, rapid reporting, and decentralisation,” Dr Ndegwa said.
He at the same time called on regional disease centres, joint research translation, and shared data systems to institutionalize collaboration between the national and county governments and emphasized that the institute is their collective which must be nurtured together.
Kenya is expected to showcase this milestone at the upcoming World Health Assembly in Geneva, as it positions itself as a regional model for integrated and decentralized public health governance.
By Fride Amiani and Victor Kiplagat
