Planning National Malaria Research in Kenya 1977-2010: Space and Place in Global Biomedicine

This thesis looks at the 1970s in Kenya as a crucial point of re-organisation of science following political independence and the collapse of the East African Community. In particular it examines the national context of scientific research between 1977 and 1979. It then considers how the national level changes were carried out in practice by following the malaria research institute, a branch of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), between 1979 and 2010. The aim is to explore the way in which visions of malaria research in this place reflected wider issues of national identity and nation building and how these changed and were remembered over time. Based on archival research and oral histories, and situated in a specific place in the west of Kenya, the thesis asks: what kind of science was planned by East African scientists in the 1970s? What questions did the scientists want to ask about malaria? How did the science planned relate to the political context? In what ways did scientists envision and frame their collaborations within the broader context of global biomedical research? By exploring these questions, it becomes apparent that the 1970s was a particular time of doing research in Kenya. This was a time in which Kenyan scientists envisioned making malaria science which was relevant to the context of Kenya, and at times infused with an ethos of African socialism. They planned on collaborating with the international community whilst also being self-sufficient. In practice, however, these hopes were constrained by the particular context of doing science in this place. With limited government funds going into science, foreign investment increased. Over time the vision of science changed from locally appropriate science to global visions, where the purposes of science became dislocated from local concerns.