icipe – the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology – was established in 1970 in direct response to the need for alternative and environmentally friendly pest and vector management strategies. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, icipe is mandated to conduct research and develop methods that are effective, selective, non-polluting, non-resistance inducing, and which are affordable to resource-limited rural and urban communities. icipe’s mandate further extends to the conservation and utilisation of the rich insect biodiversity found in Africa. icipe focuses on sustainable development, to include human health as the basis for development and the environment as the foundation for sustainability. Working in a holistic and integrated approach through the 4Hs Paradigm—Human, Animal, Plant and Environmental Health—icipe aims at improving the overall health of communities in tropical Africa by addressing the interlinked problems of poverty, poor health, low agricultural productivity and degradation of the environment. icipe is the only international institution in Africa working primarily on arthropods. Consequently capacity building of individual researchers and institutions in Africa is an integral part of all research and development activities at icipe; to empower women, harness the youth and build capacity to use, transfer and teach icipe’s technologies. In this way, icipe will continue to work ‘in Africa, for Africa’.