By BERNAD OKEBE, KENYA

For the few years that it has been in existence, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Kombewa, also known as the Kombewa Clinical Research Centre has cut a niche for herself in the Medical Research field. Her profile is based on a number of successful research work.

Speaking to the staff of this centre, one gets varied references to the facility depending on their assessment and how they relate to services rendered at the facility located in the West of Kisumu in the Nyanza Province.

The tag the scientists and staff members have given to KEMRI-Kombewa is “a team work participants simply refer to the centre as 'Hospital ma-kende' (special or unique Hospital in the Luo dialect).

Scientists and other staff members quickly identify themselves with various research work championed by the centre and which has seen a number of drugs on the market in the fight against Malaria.

Just directly opposite the KEMRI-Kombewa Clinical Research Centre lies the Kisumu West District Hospital, which probably emphasises the uniqueness of the services rendered at the research centre.

Immediately after its establishment by a joint project of Walter Reed Project of the US Army Medical Research Unit-Kenya (USAMRU-K) and (KEMRI), the purpose-built clinical trials site has continued to feature prominently in malaria work.

The centre has for years been involved with malaria studies and built on it with work on the RTS,S candidate malaria vaccine, whose initial results among 5-17 month old children show that it offers 56 per cent protection against clinical malaria and 47 per cent protection against severe malaria.

Back in 2007 the centre carried out research on the dispersible artemisinin-based combination therapy, Coartem, for children, which is still on the market. The convenience of dispersing in water and the flavour of the tablet has made Coartem quite acceptable among children.

The trial site has also been involved in the evaluation of upcoming malaria drug combinations Several other studies are also currently being carried out at the centre including a health and demographic surveillance study.

Dr. Walter Otieno who is the Principal Investigator at the centre expresses the desire of African scientists that research funding be increased by African governments and their development partners.

Assisted by Senior Researcher Dr Bernhards Ogutu and a number of young committed researchers Dr. Otieno has kept the flag of KEMRI-Kombewa flying high.

Among the young doctors at the centre are Dr Lucas Otieno, Dr Janet Oyieko, Dr Allan Otieno, Dr Ben Andagalu and Dr Nekoye Otsyula. After interacting with the scientists you realize that each of them strives to be a team player.

In a meeting with journalists of the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) on a tour of the facility, the Director of KEMRI-Kombewa, Dr Louis Macareo, observed that teamwork and respect for one another could make it hard to tell the juniors from the seniors at the centre.

This is confirmed by Dr. Nekoye N. Otsyula, a trial investigator who says "Right from the field worker to the highest officer of the WRP Kisumu  (which oversees Kombewa centre operations), we all work as a team and we therefore attribute all the successful research work and the on-going ones to every worker regardless of job position,"

The Malaria Diagnostic Centre at KEMRI-Kombewa provides training in malaria detection through microscopy thus raising the standard of malaria diagnosis in clinical trials in Kombewa and health facilities in Africa The centre consists of an outpatient clinic, urgent care treatment area, clinical laboratory specimen processing centre, pharmacy and four-bed observation suite.

The Kombewa site is one of the three KEMRI study sites in Kenya, where the phase III RTS,S malaria vaccine clinical trials are taking place. The other two are KEMRI-CDC in Siaya and KEMRI-Wellcome in Kilifi.