The facility was inaugurated by Health Cabinet Secretary Hon. Aden Duale.
This marks a significant step in strengthening disease surveillance and response in Kenya and across the region.
“The state-of-the-art expanded Polio Laboratory at the Centre for Virus Research (CVR), KEMRI, is a key milestone in advancing Kenya’s Taifa Care Model and compliance with the International Health Regulations (IHR),” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The laboratory will serve both national and regional needs.
It will support disease monitoring in Kenya and neighbouring countries, including Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Comoros.
“Serving as both the National and Inter-country Reference Laboratory, the facility will support Kenya and neighbouring countries — Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Comoros — in polio diagnostics and surveillance,” the statement added.
The upgraded lab is expected to improve genomic sequencing capabilities within the country.
It will shorten response times during disease outbreaks and allow faster identification and confirmation of cases.
Although the lab is focused on polio, it will also monitor other diseases like measles, Mpox, rubella, and various enteric viruses.
“Though anchored in polio eradication, the lab is already functioning as a multi-pathogen genomic platform, sequencing Mpox, measles, rubella, and enteric viruses — boosting preparedness against future health threats,” the ministry noted.
The expansion was supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, eHealth Africa, the Ministry of Health, and other development partners.
The initiative aligns with Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) for Health. It aims to expand access to essential health services, especially at the community level.
The facility also supports the government’s broader health goals under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) framework and the Taifa Care model.
By improving disease surveillance and response, the expanded laboratory strengthens Kenya’s efforts to eradicate polio and build a resilient health system.