Kenya to produce anti-venom drug, says CS Mutua
By Calvin Osiemo, October 26, 2023
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife has announced it will invest in the production of anti-snake venom drug to stop the reliance on importation of the drug used in treatment of snake bites.
Speaking during a familiarisation tour at the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) in Naivasha, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua noted that Kenya has been importing anti-venom in bulk from South Africa and India, yet the country has the capacity to produce the drug locally.
Mutua, who has vowed to revolutionise the tourism and wildlife sector, added that the government will pump in Sh268 million to set up a state-of-the-art laboratory at WRTI to boost research and provide local solutions to existing challenges.
“The government will support the construction of this modern laboratory in phases as we grow the tourism sector by increasing the number of visitors,” he said.
More elephants
The CS said there has been a decrease in wildlife population in recent years owing to effects of climate change and human-wildlife conflicts, with the exemption of elephants whose numbers have been rising.
According to Mutua, 68 per cent of wildlife are outside national parks and controlled zones, a factor that has seen increased cases of human-wildlife conflicts.
The CS said the ministry will soon roll out a sensitization programme to engage the public on how to coexist with wildlife to avert conflicts in future.
“We will in the coming days be launching a mobile unit that will educate members of the public on how to live with the wild animals and to keep off their territories,” he said.
WRTI board chairman David Nkedianye welcomed the move to set up the modern laboratory at the institute noting that they have been taking samples out of the country for analysis.
He said the establishment of the facility will cut costs and time hence boost research through increased efficiency.
WRTI director Patrick Omondi said the institution is committed to giving world class training and research as it is the only in the country in the wildlife research space and at the same time hailed the Tourism Promotion Fund which, he said, had supported renovations of facilities in the school.