Group photo of the Coalition for Health Research and Development (CHReaD) members at the 2nd Quarterly Meeting

African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), through the Platform for Health Technologies in Africa (Health Tech Platform), joined the Coalition for Health Research and Development (CHReaD) in July 2022. Through this membership, the Health Tech Platform will help increase the understanding of the other members of the Coalition on emerging health technologies, and the need for policy and regulatory frameworks to guide their development and use.

CHReaD brings together civil society organisations, research institutions, academia, and the private sector in Kenya for the purpose of creating an enabling policy environment for research, innovation, and access to high-impact products and technologies. 

On 19–21 July 2022, the Health Tech Platform took part in CHReaD’s Quarterly Review Meeting, its first engagement since joining the Coalition. Dr Rose Oronje, AFIDEP’s Director of Public Policy and Knowledge Translation and Head of Kenya Office, formally introduced AFIDEP and the Health Tech Platform and outlined potential areas of collaboration with the Coalition. The session with Dr Oronje generated discussions and debates critical to the development of emerging health technologies (EHTs), such as gene drive technology for malaria control.

Novel technologies such as gene drives have the potential to alleviate the burden of disease on the African continent. However, funding for health research, development and innovation (R, D&I) in Africa remains below the pledged 1% of the GDP by African governments, and this paucity prevents meaningful African engagement in the development of these EHTs. There is, therefore, a need to increase domestic funding for health research and development to support the inclusion of African researchers and institutions in their development. In Kenya, CHReaD plays a crucial role in this regard by systematically advocating for the national government to increase budget allocation to health RD&I.