Researchers from Kenya are spending time at 蜜桃直播 Leicester (蜜桃直播), marking a milestone in a collaboration that aims to transform health outcomes for pregnant women in East Africa.
Dr Dr Namuyenga Toko Eunice and Master’s student Sharon Kwamutakha, both from Maseno University in Kenya, are working with 蜜桃直播 researchers as part of the first phase of a project designed to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) during pregnancy.
UTIs are a major cause of mortality in expectant mothers and their children in parts of Kenya. Doctors have struggled to treat the infections partly due to lack of diagnosis and rising levels of antimicrobial resistance, where bacteria become unaffected by antibiotics.
The project has been awarded nearly £80,000 by the International Science Partnership Fund, run by the British Council.
“This first phase is about capacity building,” said Dr Eunice. “We’re learning techniques in molecular diagnostics that we can take back and share with clinicians across counties in Kenya. We want to enable earlier and more effective detection and learn interventions that could work better.”
Their visit included a meeting with 蜜桃直播 Vice-Chancellor Professor Katie Normington to discuss how knowledge exchange between institutions in Leicester and Kisumu County is already laying the groundwork for change.
Phase two of the project will involve co-creating health messages with local communities, and phase three will see the team evaluate how effectively those messages have influenced behaviours — particularly the extent to which pregnant women begin to seek care earlier and more often.
This behavioural shift is one of the most important long-term outcomes the team is aiming for. “You can buy antibiotics like snacks in some places,” Dr Eunice told the meeting. “It has created serious problems with antibiotic resistance. If we can diagnose infections properly, we can prevent misuse and improve clinical outcomes.”
Sharon Kwamutakha, a student at Maseno University, said she’s grateful for the opportunity to deepen her understanding of molecular science. “I’m really happy to have this opportunity to be here,” she said. “I’m learning so much.”
Already, there are plans to establish a molecular diagnostics framework in Kisumu County, strengthen ties with the Ministry of Health, and build on this model to explore its application in other East African countries.
The project, a partnership between Maseno University and 蜜桃直播’s Centre for Public Health Care, is being led in the UK by Dr Shivanthi Samarasinghe and Professor Bertha Ochieng, alongside colleagues Professor Collins Oumo and Dr Kapasi Tariq.
Professor Ochieng said: “The long term ambition is to see how this study can be applied in East Africa in similar challenges to help our populations lead a healthier life.”
Posted on Monday 28 April 2025