Kenya has unveiled the first locally manufactured malaria rapid diagnostics kit developed by Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday called for the intensification of fight against malaria and other diseases ravaging Africa even as the continent tackles COVID-19.

"We have a good number of diseases that we still have to overcome and we are here to overcome that. Even as we continue to partner with you (KEMRI) on COVID-19 work, let us not lose focus on the other areas that you have been working very hard on," Kenyatta  said.

The Head of State hailed KEMRI for its leading role in the fight against malaria in the East African nation and challenged the research institution to continue innovating technology-driven methods of defeating the vector-borne disease.

"We have seen many countries especially Cuba where they have home-grown initiatives in an island that had sanctions and managed to eradicate malaria from the entire island. I believe we can do the same by working with the brains that are in KEMRI and elsewhere." 

President Kenyatta, who is the current Chairman of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), called for collaboration of African countries in the fight against malaria noting that no single country can eradicate the disease on its own.

"We have recognized that it's not going to be possible to defeat malaria unless we also work together with neighboring countries because at the end of the day, even if we defeat malaria and it is not defeated in neighboring countries it will still come back and create future problems," the President noted.

Kenyatta , who also announced World Health Organization's (WHO) pre-qualification of Kenya's first locally made anti-malaria drug, said the country had intensified its fight against the disease by enlisting the support of young people through the Kenya Malaria Youth Army.

He called for more collaboration between the government and the private sector in research, local manufacturing and marketing of health products to create jobs and grow the economy.

(With input from Kenya's Presidency)