This week, the fight for a healthier Kenya gained renewed momentum as the Kenyan Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Response  team convened for a critical training and progress review. The meeting brought together a coalition of civil society leaders, researchers, and dedicated Kenyan health advocates committed to strengthening public health protections against harmful industry interference.

A key highlight of the strategic session was the comprehensive project update delivered by Ogweno Stephen, Founder of Stowelink Foundation and a leading Kenyan health advocate in the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) space. Ogweno’s report focused on the the #UnmaskTheTacticsKE Campaign.

Project Update: Progress of the #UnmaskTheTacticsKE Campaign

Ogweno Stephen’s major role was to update stakeholders on the impact and future direction of the #UnmaskTheTacticsKE campaign. This campaign is central to Kenya’s efforts to expose how tobacco industry actors and front groups attempt to infiltrate policy spaces, distort public narratives, and undermine evidence-based health policies.

The review showcased how coordinated digital advocacy and community engagement are successfully strengthening the capacity of local advocates to:

• Identify and document the subtle, and often misleading, strategies used by the tobacco industry.
• Counter false information and promote messages rooted purely in public health science.

This ongoing vigilance, as reported by Ogweno Stephen, is vital for sustaining Kenya’s leadership in tobacco control across the region.

Policy, Prevention, and the NCD Agenda

The meeting reaffirmed the coalition’s commitment to advancing stronger tobacco regulation, particularly by enforcing and monitoring compliance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), especially Article 5.3. This article mandates the protection of public health policies from commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry.

In his address, Ogweno Stephen underscored the inseparable link between effective tobacco control and Kenya’s broader NCD agenda.

“The rising burden of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic respiratory illnesses—all deeply tied to tobacco use—means that robust tobacco control is an NCD prevention strategy. We must maintain sustained vigilance and cross-sector collaboration to ensure our policies are not weakened by commercial interests,” stated Ogweno Stephen.

The meeting reinforced the need for:

• Integrating new research outputs to provide evidence for policy enforcement.
• The critical role of youth and civil society in holding industry and institutions accountable.

Strengthening Kenya’s Health Leadership

The collective efforts reviewed during this strategic meeting position the coalition to further strengthen health financing and policies that protect current and future generations from tobacco-related harm.

Ogweno Stephen and the Stowelink Foundation remain at the forefront of this movement, using grassroots advocacy to ensure public health is prioritized over commercial profit. As new research is finalized, Kenyan health advocates are poised to deepen their engagement and continue making transformative strides in NCD prevention across Africa.