KEMRI-Wellcome Trust sees low senior staff growth

May 21, 2025

From the newsletter

A world-renowned health research unit, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)–Wellcome Trust Research Programme, has recorded low senior staff growth compared to other large health organisations in Africa. Our analysis of the past year reveals only a 4% increase in senior staff, possibly due to recent US funding cuts that affect the Kenya-based organisation.

  • In May 2025, following the funding cuts, KEMRI announced plans to sustain critical research through revenues from locally manufactured products like repellents, diagnostic kits, and disinfectants. This likely explains the 7% rise in their sales team, the second highest increase among top African healthcare companies.

  • KEMRI and Wellcome Trust officials recently met to explore new funding mechanisms that could restore full operations, a move that could encourage future staff expansion. Established in 1989, the programme originally focused on Malaria but now also tackles TB, HIV/AIDS, and other health priorities.

More details

  • Our analysis used data from LinkedIn and featured ten healthcare organisations from across Africa to assess workforce size, growth, and professional maturity. These organisations are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Kenya Medical Research Institute – Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), Egyptian International Pharmaceutical Industries Company (EIPICO), Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Netcare Group, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Amref Health Africa, Aspen Pharmacare South Africa, and CIPLA Medpro South Africa.

  • While KEMRI lags in growth among these organisations, the global philanthropic organisation, the Gates Foundation, continues to lead in senior staff expansion. It has recorded a 16% increase in overall staff and a 24% rise in its sales team. The Gates Foundation, alongside other philanthropic partners, recently launched a $500 million fund, together with a $100 million direct investment, to improve maternal and newborn health across ten African countries.

  • Managed from Nairobi, the Beginnings Fund will focus on equipping high-burden hospitals with skilled personnel and implementing low-cost, high-impact interventions. These may include enhanced infection control, emergency obstetric care, and neonatal resuscitation. According to Alice Kang’ethe, the fund’s chief executive, the initiative is projected to save 300,000 lives and provide quality maternal and newborn care to an additional 34 million people by 2030.

  • Pharmaceutical companies have shown slight improvement in growth over the past month. Aspen has seen an increase from 2% to 6% in just one month. Cipla has also registered a modest rise, from 2% to 4%, indicating that the recent $50 million investment in its South African subsidiary, Cipla Medpro, is beginning to yield results. The funding aims to reduce inter-group debt and strengthen the company’s financial structure.

  • The Egyptian International Pharmaceutical Industries Company (EIPICO) is the only pharmaceutical firm to have experienced a decline in staff growth. It has recorded a 2% decrease in both overall growth and sales staff expansion. In September 2024, EIPICO announced a $33 million investment to establish a full-cycle biopharmaceutical plant in Kazakhstan, a landlocked country in Asia. The facility will produce biosimilars and cancer medications, creating around 200 local jobs. This shift in focus to Asia may explain the company’s reduced efforts to scale up in Africa and expand its African market.

  • EIPICO was founded in 1980 and is now Egypt’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, offering 276 drugs across 25 therapeutic groups. The company’s products account for 21% of Egypt’s pharmaceutical exports. EIPICO is 50% owned by the Arab Company for Drug Industries and Medical Appliances, established in 1976 by a resolution of the Council of Arab Economic Unity.

Our take

  • Some countries, such as South Africa and Kenya, are approaching their 2025 health research funding targets. However, increased domestic investment in research is needed to accelerate the long-term health and development progress required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

  • Long-term investment from African governments and philanthropies, will be essential to realise a critical mass of local capacity and to create and sustain world-class research hubs capable of addressing Africa’s persistent health challenges.

  • African-led research must eventually translate into African-funded research. At present, what is evident is that the tide is turning, and scientific capacity building on the continent is proving effective.