HIV injectable vaccine under trial.

Kenya receives nearly 12 per cent of all vaccine research and development funding allocated to Africa, according to a new analysis.

 

This places the country second only to South Africa, which receives 38 per cent of all vaccine development funding on the continent.

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Kenya has also hosted 100 vaccine clinical trials over the past 16 years, making it Africa’s second-largest trial hub. The data, covering the period between 2007 and 2024, is drawn from the International Vaccine Institute (IVI).

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However, the IVI warns that Kenya’s leadership in vaccine development is under threat due to shifting global funding patterns, while the country has not increased its own domestic contribution.

 

In a report titled A Landscape Analysis of the Vaccine Ecosystem in Africa, the IVI notes that 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 investing domestic resources in vaccine research.

 

“Twenty-nine of the 55 African Union member states received funding for vaccine research and development between 2007 and 2023. South Africa received the largest share at $266.04 million, followed by Kenya at $83.43 million. Tanzania accounted for 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),” the report states.

 

Africa as a whole receives less than two per cent of global vaccine research and development funding.

 

“Reported data shows that Africa received less than two per cent of global vaccine research and development funding, with most of it concentrated in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania,” the report says. The study was published in The Lancet Global Health journal.

 

Ondari Mogeni, an IVI public health specialist, and colleagues assessed clinical trial activity from 2007 to 2024 using data from multiple sources. Disease burden context was drawn from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, while regulatory maturity levels were obtained from the World Health Organization’s list of National Regulatory Authorities.

 

The findings show that Africa accounts for only eight per cent of global vaccine clinical trials that include African sites. The top five countries by clinical trial count over the 16-year period 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 funding but also a key location for testing new vaccines targeting diseases that disproportionately affect Africa, 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 funding to Africa during the period under review. The European Union followed with 29.88 per cent ($208.43 million). South Africa contributed 4.34 per cent ($30.26 million), Germany 3.31 per cent ($23.07 million) and the United Kingdom 3.10 per cent ($21.63 million).

 

Experts say external funding has played an important role in building Kenya’s research footprint. However, Kenya’s own contribution remains small, leaving the country vulnerable when donors change priorities.

 

For instance, Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) director general Prof Elijah Songok reported last year that US funding cuts affected about 40 per cent of Kemri’s programmes, placing jobs and research projects at risk. In one case, foreign support for a five-year HIV vaccine project funded by USAID was abruptly suspended.

 

“Our findings highlight the need for better vaccine data in Africa and the opportunity to build on existing strengths to achieve greater sovereignty and more resilient health systems,” the IVI researchers said.

 

They also noted that funding flows unevenly across the stages of vaccine research, with most resources directed towards early-stage work. The pre-licensure phase accounted for 47.86 per cent ($333.84 million) of all vaccine research funding to Africa. Phase two trials received 11.23 per cent ($78.31 million), while phase three trials received 10.69 per cent ($74.55 million). Post-licensure studies accounted for just 5.63 per cent ($39.24 million).

 

Overall, the study paints a picture of a continent that participates in global vaccine research but does not control its own funding flows or research priorities. This matters because diseases that attract the most funding, such as malaria, HIV/Aids and Covid-19, often reflect global interests as much as Africa’s health needs.

 

Other diseases that impose a heavy health burden in Kenya and elsewhere, including Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, meningitis, syphilis and schistosomiasis, receive far less research funding.

 

Public health experts say the solution lies in greater domestic investment by African governments, supported by stable and long-term funding commitments. Kenya has begun taking steps in this direction.

 

The Kenya BioVax Institute, part of the government’s plan to build domestic vaccine production capacity, has submitted reports and feasibility studies aimed at establishing a “smart vaccine manufacturing facility” in the country. The project, developed with partners including the International Vaccine Institute and other international firms, seeks to reduce dependence on imported vaccines and external research funding.

 

The government is also engaged in discussions with global partners and is positioning Kenya as a hub for advanced vaccine manufacturing under its bio-manufacturing strategy.

 

Plans for a $250 million vaccine manufacturing plant at Konza Technopolis form part of this effort.