Five Kenyans win Sh156 million award to fund research

Dr Ezekiel Njeru of Kenyatta University is a winner of study grants by AAS and Royal Society.

Five Kenyans are among 30 African scientists who have won the prestigious Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) scheme.

Kanyiva Muindi, Cecil King’ondu, Francis Wamonje and Ezekiel Njeru will each receive Sh39 million to conduct research on different proposals aimed at addressing global challenges relevant to Kenya.

The programme, funded by Global Challenges Research Fund, is an initiative of the African Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society.

Other countries with winning researchers are Cameroon, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Ms Muindi, of the African Population and Health Research Centre, had a project seeking to tackle household air pollution in rural Kenya. She will look at the possible shift in fuels used for cooking in a rural community, from wood to ethanol, with the aim to protect the health of women and young girls who cook for their families.

Muindi said: “Many homes in Kenya and Africa have been using wood as the main fuel for cooking and heating, but research has shown that this has negative impact on the health of people. In addition Kenya has been facing declining forest cover due to over-harvesting of trees for wood and charcoal, among other uses.” The use of ethanol will also open up business opportunities for women to sell the same.

Ms King’ondu, who is based at Botswana International University of Science and Technology, seeks to research on saving water in biodiesel refinery. 

Mr Wamonje, of the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, will work on a project titled, Virus Versus Virus: ‘Plant-Vectored’ Viruses As Bio-Pesticides Against Insects And Insect-Transmitted Plant Viruses. The project seeks to reduce the use of pesticides in crops through the use of aphids.

Mr Njeru, a researcher based at Kenyatta University, seeks to use root-associated microorganisms to enhance sustainable crop production and resilience of small-holder agrosystems to climate change.