Get a Ministry of Health permit for health research (facilities, MoH data or samples abroad)
Ministry of Health · sources read 3 Oct 2026
Get ethics (IRB/ERC) approval and a NACOSTI permit first, then send a request with your full protocol to the Ministry of Health's research directorate. It is free and takes up to 21 days.
- Fee
- We couldn't confirm a fee from the official page. Check it there before you pay.
- How long
- Up to 21 days
- Where
- Ministry of Health, Directorate of Health Finance, Digital Health, Policy and Research, Afya House, Cathedral Road, Nairobi
What you need
- Ethics approval (IRB/ERC) from Kenya
- NACOSTI research permit
- Your full research protocol
- The data collection tools you will use
- Consent (if your study involves people)
- For samples abroad: a material transfer agreement (MTA) signed by both sides
- For samples abroad: a request letter from the receiving institution or the receiver's details
- For samples abroad: the full study protocol stamped by the IRB/ERC, and the purpose of the transfer
Steps
- Get ethics approval from a Kenyan IRB/ERC and a NACOSTI research permit for your study.
- Send a request for the permit to the Ministry of Health's Directorate of Health Finance, Digital Health, Policy and Research at Afya House, with your approvals, full protocol and data collection tools.
- To ship human samples abroad, the Kenyan PI writes a request letter to the Director General and attaches the MTA, NACOSTI letter, ethics approval and stamped protocol.
Watch out
- The Ministry permit does not replace NACOSTI. You need the NACOSTI permit before you apply.
- There is no fee for the Ministry permit.
Who can apply
- Researchers who want to do research in health facilities, use Ministry of Health data, or do health research in Kenya.
- To send human samples abroad, the request comes from the Kenyan principal investigator (PI).
Official sources (2)
- Citizen's Service Delivery Charter health.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Contact Us health.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026