Anthony Okoth’s memories of when he was younger are filled with many things, including images of his mother in her uniform. He knew exactly what her job as a nurse entailed and he was proud to be associated with someone who diligently cared for the sick. The pride came from admiration and manifested into desire; he too wanted to eventually venture into a similar kind of work. He took one step at a time and started out by joining St. John’s Ambulance while at City Primary School where he learnt how to administer first aid.
While in Jamhuri High School, he was still drawn to the health care sector and this motivated him to work hard through the years leading up to completion of his O levels. Around this time, a scholarship program had been rolled out; it was targeted at Kenyan students, offering a chance to pursue A level and degree studies in selected institutions in India. Anthony wasn’t one to shy away from this opportunity to study abroad. His application went through and he was admitted to Punjab School Higher Education for his A levels, after which he joined Punjab Technical University where he would pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences.
The four intense years threatened his tenacity but Anthony was hopeful that it wasn’t all in vain. After completing his undergrad, he opted to extend his stay in India and pushed himself further by enrolling for a post-graduate diploma in pharmacy. This additional learning strengthened his confidence in the acquired information and skills. It also encouraged him to come back home and get to work.
In 1994, Anthony’s career began at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). He worked as a researcher in laboratories of the Department of Traditional Medicine. Always clad in a white coat, his work ethic filled with enthusiasm, it was no surprise that after a while, he’d earned a nickname – ‘The Herbalist.’ The new name was in some way associated to the time period. While the 21st century approached, some locals were still comfortable consulting medicine men. KEMRI decided to undertake research focusing on traditional prescriptions in order to inform the stakeholders on their validity. Anthony spent his days in conversations with traditional herbalists, collecting the herbs they used to administer treatments. He took the herbs back to the lab and extracted the active ingredients, then he tested their molecular compositions in order to find out which properties within them were curative.
Three years into this, the funding for the research started declining. Anthony was forced to look beyond his microscope into the greater world of pharmaceuticals. He landed a job as a field representative of GlaxoSmithKline, a multinational pharmaceutical company. This new line of work involved interacting with different partners to market pharmaceutical products. His career progressed steadily and after a few years, Anthony moved up from his entry-level position to management level. Then came 2003 and with it a need arose. Anthony decided to supplement his experience with more knowledge. This led him to UoN where he undertook a postgraduate diploma in project planning management. The learning would never be enough because after this he enrolled for a master’s degree in marketing at Daystar University.
It had taken over two decades, but Anthony had worked his way up to the top of his field. Through his work, he interacted with a variety of ailments but he was greatly concerned about malaria. It was a problem throughout the continent and Anthony knew that dedicated his time to finding a solution would not only help the Kenyan population but so many Africans. He was working as the CEO of Population Services Kenya at the time, and once again he turned to education to prepare him for the daunting task he wanted to execute. In 2018, Anthony’s name was on the list of students at Harvard Business School. He learnt management for non-profit organizations and this enabled a smooth transition into his new role as Country Director at PATH Kenya where he would oversee the distribution of various medicines locally.
Anthony’s joining PATH Kenya was timely. The organization and its partners were at a crucial stage in revolutionizing the treatment of malaria. A vaccine was on its way, and the focus was on how best to conduct an implementation program. Fortunately, the right man had been tasked with the job. And in 2019, the world’s first malaria vaccine was developed. Kenya, Ghana and Malawi were the countries chosen to introduce this medical breakthrough to their citizens. Locally, the malaria vaccine was launched in Homa Bay County in September. The success validated this new ‘tool’ that would soon be in the hands of doctors nationwide. It was a huge responsibility but Anthony spearheaded and executed the process flawlessly. All the years of work and the work ethic he displayed contributed to another title. Anthony was appointed the Associate Director for the Medicines for Malaria Venture. It seems that learning is part and parcel of Anthony because, after this appointment, Anthony has returned to school – though online – and taken a course by Harvard University on Defeating Malaria from the Genes to the Global.
Today we celebrate Anthony Okoth for his participation in innovation and in making Kenya a healthier nation!