After a frantic race to Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi, Monique Wasunna cradled the fragile figure of an 11-year-old boy, whose life was slipping away in her arms, an experience that no doctor wants to live. “He had visceral leishmaniasis, a disease also known as
kala-azar
,” says Wasunna. “It had been brought 300 kilometers from his village in Baringo, Kenya, because at that time the treatment was only available at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) clinical trials centre. But it was too late to save him.” This experience more than 30 years ago deeply marked Dr. Wasunna and led her to dedicate her career to finding better treatments for neglected tropical diseases such as leishmaniasis, a parasitic condition that, without treatment, is almost always fatal. East Africa is the second largest focus of this disease in the world, after India.
In 2002, Wasunna – the only African researcher – stood out for her contributions to the Working Group on Medicines for Neglected Diseases, a project that was born from the decision of Doctors Without Borders to allocate part of the funds from the Nobel Peace Prize won in 1999. More This working group later evolved into the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), an initiative with more than 200 employees on five continents, focused on drug development and discovery. Wasunna served as regional director for Africa from then until 2023.
Since the birth of the initiative, Wasunna focused especially on clinical trials of visceral leishmaniasis, the deadliest variety of this disease caused by a parasite, which together accounts for between 700,000 and one million cases per year. In 2003, he spearheaded the creation of the Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP) in Khartoum along with other scientists from Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan. She explains, by video call: “Between 2004 and 2010, a clinical trial was carried out in multiple centers to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new treatment that obtained good results and had a very good safety profile. In March 2010, the World Health Organization recommended it as a first-level treatment in East Africa.”
Wasunna grew up in Uganda, in a home that valued education and where his father instilled in him the belief that he could follow any path he wanted. Her dream was to be a doctor, but when she enrolled in Medicine at the University of Nairobi in 1975, she was on the verge of doubting herself. With only 8 girls in the class before her and 25 women among the 70 men in her class, she points out that studying at that faculty as a woman was “like going through the eye of a needle.”
For patients, any man in a white coat was a doctor and all women were nurses
Once the studies and internships were completed, finding a place in the hospital environment was not an easy task. “For patients, any man in a white coat was a doctor, even lab technicians. And all the women were nurses,” he recalls. And he adds: “After studying for five years in college and enduring sleepless nights of internships rotating through different specialties, they kept telling me: 'Sister, please get me a doctor.' “When I told them that I was the doctor, they were stunned.”
As a doctor at Kenyatta Hospital, Wasunna saw more than 50 patients a day. She was also a new mother, which meant that she had to balance work and domestic responsibilities. In 1983, after two years in the hospital, she moved to KEMRI as a clinical researcher. She later went to London to pursue a master's degree and a doctorate, in what she calls the most difficult time of her life. “I went in the mid-eighties with my two young children and my husband, who also got a neonatal medicine fellowship at Hammersmith Hospital. We couldn't have domestic help, so I was a mother, wife and student,” she says. “After returning from classes at five in the afternoon, I cooked, fed the children and tidied the house while my husband took care of the laundry and ironing. When the children went to bed, she finally found time to read, usually from ten at night until midnight.
Despite the demands of her domestic life, she achieved notable academic success and earned one of three honors in her class. After returning to Kenya, he received a call from colleagues in the United Kingdom who wanted her to be part of a clinical trial for a leishmaniasis treatment. “I had just given birth to my third child, and the proposal submission deadline was quickly approaching. My contribution to the development of the proposal was essential as I was the only one on the ground with local knowledge of the clinical aspects of the trial.”
Don't believe the myth that girls and women cannot excel in Mathematics and Science. Don't be afraid to venture into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. If you tell your brain you can do it, you will do it
Her dedication paid off when the team secured a major grant for an international clinical trial, including centers in India, Latin America and Kenya, in which she spearheaded research into a potential first-line treatment for leishmaniasis. This trial was one of many significant contributions Wasunna made over the years in clinical trials for neglected diseases, which ultimately led to four new treatments in the East African region. She returned to London in 1990 to complete her PhD, supported by her husband, who encouraged her to pursue her academic ambitions while he stayed behind to care for her children.
Upon her return, she held various positions at KEMRI, including head of research and later deputy director in charge of research. As regional director of the DNDi for 20 years, she oversaw 10 clinical trials in the region to find new safe and accessible treatments for visceral leishmaniasis mycetoma, among others. During her leadership, the Data Management and Biostatistics Center was created in Nairobi, responsible for data management and statistical analysis of clinical trials. “One of the highlights of my career was being a member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (CIB) from 2008 to 2015. For eight years I was one of 36 members in the world,” she highlights.
Wasunna has been awarded numerous awards throughout her career, including the National Order of Merit awarded by the Government of France in recognition of her contribution to research, dedication and service to underserved patients. Since 2023 she has been an ambassador of the DNDi in Africa.
For Wasunna, who has been and continues to mentor countless women, her message is clear: “Don't believe the myth that girls and women cannot excel in Mathematics and Science. Don't be afraid to venture into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. If you tell your brain that you can do it, you will do it. Your dreams are valid.”