Wellcome Global Monitor figures show the share of people who believe their countries benefit from science fell from 42 per cent in 2018 to 37 per cent in 2025.
Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has warned that declining public confidence in institutions, including those responsible for scientific research and public health, poses a challenge to social and economic progress.
Speaking at the Global Trust Summit in Nairobi, Mudavadi said institutions could not sustain public confidence through authority alone, but needed to demonstrate integrity, fairness and practical benefits to the people they serve.
He cited the Wellcome Global Monitor 2026, which found that the proportion of people who believed most people in their country benefited from science declined from 42 per cent in 2018 to 37 per cent in 2025.
According to Mudavadi, scientific credibility depends not only on the quality of evidence but also on how institutions communicate findings, address uncertainty and ensure that the benefits of scientific advances are accessible to the public.
He said equitable access to healthcare and openness about scientific uncertainty were important to demonstrating that research and innovation could improve people’s lives.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary placed the issue within a wider debate about public trust, warning that the erosion of confidence threatened institutions, economic prosperity and the ability of societies to address common challenges.
“When a society loses the trust of its people, it risks losing the very foundation upon which its institutions, prosperity and common future depend,” he said.
Mudavadi also cautioned against equating confidence in political leadership with effective governance. Referring to an Afrobarometer working paper drawing on survey data from 37 African countries, he said greater trust in presidents and ruling parties was associated with weaker public support for accountability mechanisms, including parliamentary oversight and media scrutiny.
He called for institutions to remain transparent and answerable, arguing that public confidence should be earned through conduct rather than demanded from citizens.
“The strongest institutions are not those that ask people to trust them blindly, but those that inspire confidence through their conduct while remaining transparent, answerable and open to scrutiny,” he said.
The economic implications of institutional credibility also featured in his address. Mudavadi described trust as economic infrastructure, arguing that commercial relationships rely on integrity and a reputation for honouring commitments alongside formal contracts and legal safeguards.
Participants also considered the role of trust in regional trade, with Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, James Millya, outlining efforts to eliminate non-tariff barriers between Kenya and Tanzania.
The two countries have resolved 54 of 68 identified barriers, although bilateral trade declined from approximately US$950 million in 2024 to US$860 million in 2025.
Millya said the remaining barriers needed to be addressed through practical measures that reduce delays, repeated inspections and uncertainty for traders.
The Global Trust Summit, being held in Nairobi from October 21 to 23, is examining how trust can strengthen governance, resilient societies, inclusive economies and international cooperation.
Mudavadi urged participants to develop a practical framework for restoring confidence, supported by clear commitments, implementation partnerships and credible mechanisms for monitoring delivery.
