MKU VC Stanley Waudo (left) and Makerere University VC Barnabas Nawangwe exchange MoU documents on September 21, 2017, during the launch of a partnership for exchange programmes in teaching and research. [Photo: nation.co.ke]
Mt Kenya and Makerere universities have jointly launched an initiative that is aimed at benefitting researchers in East Africa.The two universities have established a research fund to address common health issues affecting the region.The fund by the schools of health sciences of Makerere and Mt Kenya universities mainly targets areas which receive minimal support from international donors.The kitty will also facilitate research and development of innovations geared towards addressing health challenges brought about by climate change and disease outbreaks which bear a direct impact on the economies of the affected countries.Speaking during the launch of the fund at the MKU main campus in Thika, the institution's co-founder Jane Nyutu said the kitty had received its initial USD 100,000 boost from a joint donation by the two institutions.Stanley Kang'ethe, the principal of the Mt Kenya University’s college of health sciences underscored the need for like-minded institutions in the region to collaborate in similar programmes with the aim of providing home-grown solutions to the problems facing East Africa."That way, our region can spearhead innovations that avert huge economic losses, morbidity, and mortality beyond the capacity of the affected regions," he said.The two universities also signed a memorandum of understanding that will see them collaborate in offering joint training and enabling research amongst its undergraduate and postgraduate students through exchange programmes."Makerere University is recognised as a leader in tropical medicine. We have provided leadership in research in medicine including ground-breaking research in HIV-Aids, malaria, Ebola and others," said Makerere Vice-Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe.Nawangwe said that he believed that Makerere University had something to offer to Mt Kenya University as they also tap from the latter's successful business models that have seen it grow to where it is today.