| dc.description.abstract | Prof. Eucharia Kenya is the Deputy Vice-chancellor in-charge of Planning, Administration and Finance (PAF), at the University of Embu. She is also a consultant on Biotechnology, Biosafety and Biosecurity issues with international experience and expertise. Previously she taught at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, for over 10 years. During this period, she supervised over 30 postgraduate students and published several peer-reviewed papers. She has attracted substantial grants that have benefited many students in the greater East African Region and fostered collaborative projects and partnerships that have contributed in strengthening capacity in different aspects of biotechnology.
She is a very active player in the agricultural biotechnology sector in Kenya and served as a member of the steering committee under the Ministry of Agriculture, that developed the ‘Agricultural Biotechnology Awareness Strategy for Kenya (2008)’. She was deeply involved in the discussions that culminated in the enactment of the Kenya Biosafety Act (2009) and has also participated on regional efforts at harmonizing these laws.
As an educator, she has participated in many outreach activities to key biotech stakeholders including policy makers & technocrats, parliamentarians, scientists, teachers, farmers and the media. These activities have covered areas spanning General Biotechnology, Risk Communication (Safety of GM technology), Media Relations (for Scientists), the Art of reporting Science (for journalists), Policy formulations and Regulatory landscaping and Practice in Africa, with reference to adoption of GM Technology/Biosafety and Biosecurity.
Prof. Kenya is a founding member of the Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa, a flagship project of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
On the international scene, she has been very active in the activities of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and is a member of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition. Her thrust in these organizations is to articulate the need for increased capacity strengthening and enactment of laws that will enable African countries gain from international efforts by the global community in making everywhere safe for human existence. | |
