[PHOTOS] Bill Gates visits Kemri headquarters

American businessman Bill Gates has visited the Kenya Medical Research Institute as part of a series of his tours in the country.

Gates met some of the country’s leading research scientists and innovators during his three hours’ visit at the facility.

He also held a brief consultative meeting with Kemri director general Sam Kariuki together with members of the top management.

The Gates Foundation has partnered with Kemri for close to two decades, supporting cutting-edge research in our various centres that have influenced polices and health systems.

Kemri is one of the recipient of collaborative research funding from The Gates Foundation resulting in cutting-edge and impactful research findings of global influence to health policies and bettered health systems.

During his visit, Gates was taken through a number of research projects on Maternal and Child Health including the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (Champs).

Pregnancy Risk Surveillance Innovation and Measurement Alliance (PRiSMA) and Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition Network (Chain).

The three are collaborative projects between Kemri, Ministry of Health and Centre for Disease Research, Phillips Kenya, the University of Washington, Wellcome Trust and University of Oxford respectively.

Bill Gates joined a meeting to review the process and results of the Champs and PRiSMA projects being implemented in Western Kenya region of the Kenya

Gates is in Kenya and is expected to hold a series of public engagements.

The Microsoft founder is set to meet government officials and other stakeholders in the private sector.