State backs health research as nuclear course unveiled
Public Health PS Mary Muthoni with Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority chairman Omondi Anyanga during the launch of a post-graduate programme in nuclear and radiation safety at Kenyatta University on October 2,2023.
The government has challenged academic institutions to initiate research programmes that will boost medical knowledge as Kenya races towards Universal Health Coverage.
Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said Kenya was making a deliberate policy shift towards disease prevention rather than treatment.
"We are now racing to ensure early diagnosis of diseases, hence the need for sustained medical knowledge and equipment," Ms Muthoni said on Monday (October 2), adding that meeting Kenya's public health needs requires data and know-how.
The PS was speaking as she presided over the launch of a post-graduate programme in nuclear and radiation safety for English-speaking countries at Kenyatta University.
The course is run by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA).
The PS said Kenya Kwanza administration is keen to empower community health promoters to ensure early diagnosis of diseases. President William Ruto last week flagged off 100,000 kits to be used by community health promoters to deepen universal health coverage.
Ms Muthoni said: "One of our key agenda is human resources for health as we look for numbers to improve our knowledge base."
KNRA Board Chairman Omondi Anyanga, Director General James Keter and Acting CEO of the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency Justus Wabuyabo, as well as senior teams from the Ministries of Health and Education, witnessed the launch.
Kenya was given the go-ahead to host the course after an inter-agency team of nuclear experts visited the country in August to assess its preparedness. The team found that Kenya has many universities with fully-fledged departments running nuclear physics and nuclear science and technology programmes, with equipped laboratories and lecturers with the necessary backgrounds.
Mr Anyanga highlighted the authority's agenda for the programme, whose initial 22 beneficiaries will be 13 African countries that are part of the African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology.
Mr Keter described the five-month training as a major milestone for Kenya. He said the programme was designed for professionals at the postgraduate or equivalent level and aimed at building the capacity of African countries to put in place robust regulatory safeguards in the field of nuclear and radiation safety.
"We are looking forward to a smooth start. This is an honour for Kenya as we are hosting the course for the first time," Mr Keter added. In addition to Kenyatta University, 10 other local higher education institutions and hospitals have expressed interest in taking a lead role in the programme, called the Post-Graduate Course in Radiation Protection.
Experts say the course is designed to provide basic training in radiation protection and source safety and will consist of lectures, practical exercises, laboratory exercises, demonstrations and technical visits and is fully based on the IAEA standard syllabus.
Mr Anyanga described the course as a game changer.
"We continue to establish ourselves as a powerhouse in knowledge generation and sharing. KNRA will work tirelessly with various partners to ensure that the safety of people and the environment remains paramount," he said.
The IAEA, an affiliate of the United Nations, runs several other capacity-building programmes, including an Internet Reactor Lab, which gives students from Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia and South Africa online access to the facilities of a research reactor in Morocco for nuclear education and training.
