State Department for Science and Innovation PS Shaukat Abdulrazak and African Population and Health Research Center executive director Catherine Kyobutungi during the launch of the Ulwazi II Knowledge Hub on May 13 /HANDOUT
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) has marked 25 years of research and policy influence with the launch of the Ulwazi II Knowledge Hub, a new facility designed to strengthen Africa’s scientific capacity, collaboration and evidence-based policymaking.
The launch positions APHRC as a key player in Kenya’s Sh500 billion science, research and innovation agenda.
Principal Secretary State Department for Science, Research and Innovation Shaukat Abdulrazak, who represented Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said APHRC has played a central role in shaping Africa’s research and development landscape.
Abdulrazak said Mudavadi had been engaged at the Africa Forward Summit, which brought together more than 30 heads of state and over 4,000 delegates in Nairobi.
“For 25 years, this institution has distinguished itself as a trusted source of social evidence, a convener of ideas, a catalyst for informed policy conversations across sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
The PS said the launch of Ulwazi II Knowledge Hub marked a strategic step in strengthening Africa’s ability to generate and apply knowledge.
“This knowledge hub is more than a building. It is a bold statement about the continent’s commitment to shaping its development trajectory through research, innovation and collaboration,” he said.
Abdulrazak linked the initiative to Kenya’s broader science and innovation agenda, noting ongoing efforts to streamline the research ecosystem.
“Earlier this year Kenya launched the Science, Research and Innovation strategy framework co-created by more than 200 partners to unify the country’s research ecosystem and eliminate duplication,” he said.
The government is working to ensure research outputs translate into practical solutions for national development priorities, including Vision 2030, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda and universal health coverage, Abdulrazak said.
He stressed the importance of data in decision-making, saying Africa must strengthen its capacity to generate and interpret evidence.
“Evidence-informed policymaking cannot be overstated. We live in an era where decisions must be guided not merely by assumptions but by credible data and rigorous analysis,” the PS said.
Kenya is advancing initiatives such as a science research and innovation observatory and national data repositories to support evidence-led development.
APHRC executive director Dr Catherine Kyobutungi said the organisation had spent 25 years working to ensure science translates into tangible societal impact beyond academic output.
“We do a lot of science but we ensure that science is translated into decisions that actually impact lives,” Kyobutungi said.
She said APHRC had expanded its footprint across more than 40 African countries, working with governments, communities and development partners to address health, education and urbanisation challenges.
“We’ve had impact on policy that affects people especially in urban areas, non-communicable diseases, reproductive health for women and girls and food systems,” she said.
Kyobutungi said the institution is now focusing on strengthening Africa’s research ecosystem by improving collaboration between universities, government and communities.
“We are trying to see how we engineer the system that generates science, how we connect universities and academics with communities who understand the problems and with government so that we don’t do science for the sake of science,” she said.
She warned that Africa’s knowledge systems have historically marginalised African researchers in global discourse, calling for a shift towards an Africa-centred research model.
“We are trying to build a system that puts Africa first through our scientists and our institutions so that African science can count for Africans,” she said.
Abdulrazak said the government is committed to strengthening collaboration and financing in the research sector.
He said Kenya was pushing for stronger partnerships between academia, industry, government and development actors to enhance innovation outcomes.
“We want to break silos. We want to build synergies and collaboration so that we can all come together around societal issues,” Abdulrazak said.
He said the government was also prioritising increased domestic financing for science and innovation, noting a presidential commitment to allocate 1 per cent of GDP to the sector.
“His Excellency President William Ruto is very committed that as government we will allocate 1 per cent of GDP to support this ecosystem,” he said.
Abdulrazak said Kenya is developing programmes such as science diplomacy, grand challenges and research chairs to strengthen human capacity and infrastructure.
“We want to ensure whatever comes out of our research institutions addresses societal issues,” he said.
Abdulrazak described the Ulwazi II Knowledge Hub as a timely investment that would strengthen knowledge generation and application across Africa.
“The hub is a platform where ideas will be shared, where research will inform action and where African solutions will emerge to address African challenges,” he said.
Anthony Mveyange, director of programmes at APHRC, said the hub would serve as a convening space for scientists, policymakers and communities.
He said the facility would strengthen research translation, capacity building and collaboration across the continent.
“We are creating an infrastructure that will attract more African scholars to convene and engage. It is not separate from what APHRC does, it is an extension of our strategic vision,” Mveyange said.
He said APHRC’s work spans evidence generation, policy translation and capacity strengthening aimed at building a self-sustaining African research ecosystem.
“We are responding to gaps in knowledge generation, evidence translation and capacity development on the continent,” he said.
The launch comes as Kenya and other African countries
intensify efforts to expand science funding, improve data systems and position
research as a driver of economic transformation.
