On 28th October of 2021, there was a book donation at JKUAT’s old boardroom where Dr. James Hungo Kimotho was donating 300 copies of Drug Index to the School of Pharmacy in the College of Health Sciences.

The meeting began by a word of prayer from the Chairperson of Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy Department, Dr. Linus Wafula. The Chairperson Department of Pharmaceutical chemistry Dr. Boniface Thuo spearheaded the introduction of all the guests.

The Dean School of Pharmacy, Dr. Alex Kigundu Muriithi  described the Drug index as a comprehensive and systematic source of drug information that has been customized to provide healthcare practitioners, especially the pharmacist with easy-to-retrieve information on drugs and other related products. “These books will be very crucial in setting the bar high for our students in drug handling and dispensing   thus raising our standards as school of Pharmacy for the benefit of the country’s healthcare sector”, said Dr. Kigundu. Dr. Kigundu then introduced the guest of honour as an Alumni of JKUAT, an author and a publisher of the Drug Index.

In his speech, Dr. Kimotho said that he believes in knowledge translation to students who then can competitively provide solutions. He heads Innovation and Technology Transfer Division (ITTD) at Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). He also heads two key committees in this country namely; 

 1. Local Vaccines production and

 2. Production of rapid Test kits for Malaria.

 Dr. Kimotho was very glad to donate the Drug Index books to our students since the book is very important in the practice of pharmacy to avoid miscommunication in drug dispensing. He reiterated that one must have it in order to practice in pharmacy and that he desires to work with this institution not only to uplift but also mentor our students in knowledge translation. “The book, which has been recommended by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), will be useful to the practitioners in ensuring they get up to date information on drug matters,”  said Dr. Kimotho.

The JKUAT Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Prof. Robert Kinyua, appreciated the author’s generous gesture noting the University Management is happy and ready to be associated with institutions and individuals whose efforts are geared towards supporting the University achieve its goals. “As a University we pride ourselves in producing high quality students for the job market. This book will be essentially important in ensuring we meet our main objectives,” Prof. Kinyua stated. With most books being internationally sourced, Prof. Kinyua was delighted that more local authors are coming up to fill the void,  emphasizing the importance of publications which bear a local touch in using language and terms which are easily understood and applied by students.

University Librarian Dr. Rose Mangira received the books and was very happy since the book donation drive is one of the greatest achievement to the library department.

Other members present were Dr. Isaac Kimani, a lecturer in the Department of Pharmaceutics, Prof. Sherry Oluchina and Mr. Jackson Chakaya, representing the school of Nursing, Mercy Musanga, from Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy Department. The class representatives; Fiona Nyakio, Jacinta Kamau and Felix Adem were also present.