The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) was established in 1979 under the Science and Technology (Amendment) Act of that year to represent the national body responsible for carrying out health science research in Kenya. Prior to the establishment of KEMRI, health research in Kenya was conducted under the auspices of the East African Medical Research Council which had been established in 1957 to serve the countries of the East African Community. Following the break-up of the East African Community in 1977, the Kenyan Parliament passed the Science and Technology Act in 1977 and amended it in 1979 to provide for the establishment of research institutes.

 

The challenges of health and development in Kenya are inextricably linked to the wider global health challenges.It is in this realization that Kenya as a part of the world community,has committed itself to the advancement of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs)towards the improvement of life globally.The KEMRI starategic plan will,inevitably,have to address the Kenya health agenda in the context of the MDGs-hence the title of the Plan"Meeting the Health Challenges of the 21st Century".