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A Resounding Success — East African Snakebite Symposium 2025

In June 2025, a unique virtual event brought together experts, practitioners, and enthusiasts from across East Africa and beyond to shine a light on one of the region’s most neglected but deadly public health issues: snakebite envenoming. The East African Snakebite Symposium 2025, a four-part CPD-accredited webinar series, delivered compelling evidence, practical training, and regional collaboration that could mark a turning point in the fight against snakebite deaths and disabilities.

Organised by Watamu Snake Farm and hosted on Daktari Online, the symposium was powered by a robust partnership involving Response-Med, Amref Health Africa, the Global Snakebite Initiative (GSI), and the Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation (EMKF). Together, these organisations formed a formidable alliance committed to strengthening snakebite management and awareness in East Africa.

A Groundbreaking Learning Series

Each Thursday evening in June, hundreds of healthcare professionals logged in to access world-class expertise on snakebite management. Over the four weeks, the series featured a compelling lineup of local and international speakers including:

  • Dr. Robert Rono on the epidemiology of snakebite in East Africa,
  • Kyle Ray on snake identification and first aid,
  • Dr. David Williams and Dr. Milind Khadilkar on antivenom policy and production,
  • Dr. Mitchel Okumu on Kenya’s antivenom surveillance study,
  • Prof. Sir David Warrell and Dr. Eugene Erulu on clinical treatment,
  • Prof. Timothy Hardcastle on surgical interventions.

Attendance and Reach

The response was overwhelming.

  • Over 2,000 participants registered across the four webinars.
  • Viewership spanned 14 countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zambia, and even audiences from Europe and Australia.
  • The audience consisted of doctors, nurses, clinical officers, pharmacists, laboratory professionals, and non-healthcare stakeholders, including community educators and conservationists.
  • A majority of attendees were early-career professionals and trainees, drawn by the free access and CPD certification on offer.

Impact and Engagement

The symposium didn’t just share knowledge—it ignited conversation and commitment. Live Q&A sessions sparked region-specific discussions on:

  • Access to safe and effective antivenom,
  • Rural treatment capacity and referral systems,
  • Community-based snakebite prevention strategies,
  • Surveillance and data collection gaps.

Several hospitals and county governments have already expressed interest in adopting the guidelines and training materials presented during the sessions.

Recordings of each session were made freely available, ensuring that the learnings continue to ripple outward well beyond June. Snakebite prevention materials were also shared in both English and Swahili, broadening their accessibility and impact.

A Model for Collaborative Action

What set this symposium apart was its cross-sectoral and cross-border partnership. Academic rigour met grassroots experience. Policy insights were grounded in frontline realities. The support of EMKF, AMREF, GSI, and Response-Med ensured the webinar was not only rich in content but also logistically seamless and widely accessible.

This partnership is a model for future regional training and advocacy efforts. It underscores the importance of coordinated, Pan-African responses to neglected tropical diseases like snakebite, which claim tens of thousands of lives annually but receive only a fraction of the global health spotlight.

Looking Ahead

The success of the East African Snakebite Symposium 2025 has laid a solid foundation for sustained efforts in the region. Plans are already underway to:

  • Translate key content into Kiswahili, Amharic, and French,
  • Launch community-first responder snakebite training programs,
  • Advocate for the inclusion of snakebite in national health agendas and essential medicine lists,
  • Develop a Snakebite Clinical Toolkit for frontline health workers.

Final Word

Snakebite envenoming may be a silent killer, but thanks to the dedication of all who participated in the East African Snakebite Symposium 2025, the silence is being broken.

This was more than a webinar series. It was a call to action—and the East African health community answered.

📺 Missed the Symposium?

Click ≡ to see all the videos in the series or CLICK HERE for the slides.

#SnakebiteAwareness #NeglectedTropicalDiseases #EMKF #AMREF #GlobalSnakebiteInitiative #DaktariOnline #WatamuSnakeFarm #ResponseMed #EastAfricaHealth

Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation