Released by the Bureau of African Affairs
Kericho, Kenya

Leslie Rowe, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, Nairobi, Kenya; Major General Lester Martinez-Lopez, Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and Fort Detrick, Maryland; and Dr. Ibrahim Amira, Provincial Medical Officer, Kenya Ministry of Health, participated in the inauguration of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Walter Reed Project Clinical Research Center and Kericho District Hospital Maternal Child Health Center on March 16 in Kericho, Kenya.

The Walter Reed Project was first invited to Kenya in 1969 to study trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, a severe disease, which is fatal if left untreated. In 1975, it began work on malaria and work was expanded to HIV/AIDS field sites in 2001. The completion of the Clinical Research Center/Maternal Child Health Center, with its modern equipment and highly-trained staff, marks a major milestone in the 35 years of collaboration between the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Walter Reed Project. The new building and the on-going joint projects are appropriate symbols of the friendship and cooperation between the U.S. and Kenya in their fight against disease and poverty.

With the cooperation of thousands of volunteers, Walter Reed Project research indicates wide prevalence of HIV among the local population, which naturally has an adverse impact on the productivity of Kericho’s tea plantations. From field tests that ensure safety and anonymity to the analysis of test results that uses state-of-the art equipment, Kenya Medical Research Institute and Walter Reed Project are making a major contribution in the fight against HIV and promoting the health of the people in Kericho.

March 16, 2004: Leslie Rowe (center), Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, Nairobi, Kenya; Major General Lester Martinez-Lopez (left), Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and Fort Detrick, Maryland; and Dr. Ibrahim Amira (right), Provincial Medical Officer, Kenya Ministry of Health, unveil the commemorative plaque at the inauguration of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Walter Reed Project Clinical Research Center and Kericho District Hospital Maternal Child Health Center in Kericho, Kenya. (Walter Reed Project/U.S. Army Medical Research Unit - Kericho Staff Photo)