Kenya is an important partner country of VLIR-UOS. From 2003 to 2021 VLIR-UOS spent around € 30,4 million in cooperation with Kenya, including a long-term Institutional University Cooperation (IUC) Programme with the University of Nairobi and Moi University (MU-K, Eldoret). The IUC partnership with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) which started in 2017 is the cornerstone of the cooperation with Kenya. In 2021, a new IUC partnership with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) is being phased in in view of full funding as of 2022.

Kenya is also one of our 29 scholarship countries.

Ongoing projects

Institutional University Cooperation

IUC 2017 Phase 1 JKUAT IUC 2021 Phase In JOOUST

TEAM projects

Improved management for nitrate pollution in the Lake Victoria catchment of Kenya Capacity building network in biostatistics for public health innovation in Kenya Transboundary coastal processes and human resource utilisation patterns as a basis for a conservation area initiative Using the edible insect Ruspolia differens to enhance food security in East Africa Building a strategic framework for aquaculture education in Kenya Towards a more integrated management of organic waste in Kenya; the production of natural dyes from fruit and vegetable waste Synergy for mass propagation of elite Melia volkensii clones and exploiting its derived biopesticides Determining nematode damage and mitigation for increased finger millet productivity for food and nutritional security in Kenya Insects for Nutrition and Health: Development and Evaluation of Insect-based Complementary Foods for Children in Kenya Climate smart options allowing agricultural intensification for smallholders in the dry zones of the Central Highlands of Kenya

JOINT

Research-based education for sustainable rural development Initiating a Training Network and Capacity Building to Improve Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Kenya and Ethiopia. Directed Breeding Programs for Improved Poultry Livestock by Genetic Bioinformatics Research and Devel-opment in Kenya (BIRD)

South Initiatives

Citizen Science for monitoring MAcRoplastics in Kenya using mobile Technology (C-SMART) Hydrological and biogeochemical indicators to assess ecosystem health and ecological integrity of Mt. Kenya and Aberdares, Kenya Water quality characterization and biosorption for point-of-use drinking water treatment in Athi River Basin, Kenya A Pilot Waste and Environmental Pollution Mitigation Using Innovative Renewable Technologies for Mombasa Region in Kenya

Kenya and Agenda 2030 - country reference framework

VLIR-UOS revised its country approach towards an ‘Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development’ centred approach. Moreover, VLIR-UOS wants to facilitate connections between different actors and projects present in a given country. With these objectives in mind, the Country Reference Framework (CRF) for Kenya supports teams of academics when identifying and formulating project proposals, by providing a context analysis focused on Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development and the higher education sector in Kenya, and by providing an overview of Belgian development actors active in Kenya, their ongoing projects and partners, in view of exploration of opportunities for synergy and complementarity.

VLIR-UOS cooperation in Kenya has been aligned with the Kenya Vision 2030 through the role put forward for universities of developing the necessary human resource base for achieving its goals. It considers the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to be nationally relevant and capable of having a transformative impact on the quality of life of all Kenyans. This is in line with the objectives of VLIR-UOS on working towards Agenda 2030.