UNDP partners with Kenyan hospitals to fight Covid

Kisumu, Migori, and Busia counties have been given a boost in the fight against the spread of Covid 19 in the wake of the sixth wave of the Pandemic.

A partnership between the United Nations Development Programme UNDP and the Russian Embassy in Kenya will see 15 hospitals in these counties get Sh 120 million worth of personal protective equipment.

The UNDP Team Lead Environment and resilient unit Evelyn Koech said the partnership is meant to support border counties as they bear the heaviest burden of Covid 19 due to porous borders.

The county has increased its number of covid 19 infections by 92 percent in the past month, compared to the previous four weeks. Ms Koech said this presents a great opportunity to hand over medical commodities to fight the pandemic.

Health experts in the lake region have raised concerns over the low testing for Covid- 19 infection in the counties.

The Lake Region Economic Bloc Covid 19 Committee advisory chairman Prof Khama Rogo noted that the county health officials are not testing for viruses as they should, despite the residents letting down the Covid 19 measures.

When the situation of Covid 19 cases improved in the country, the health department let down the guards and measures, said Prof Rogo.

Most of the county government have dismantled the systems to control the spread of Covid 19 infections or they don't have the testing kits. The plan will focus on medical waste management.

The Russian Embassy representative Vladimir Lenev said that if the medical waste is not handled well, it could lead to secondary Covid 19 infections.

'It is important that the management of medical waste is done in a way that reduces exposure to communities,' he said.

Ministry of Health representative Gamaliel Omondi said that demand for quality-assured PPEs is still very high among front-line health care and other essential workers.

The proper use of quality-assured PPEs is essential to prevent exposure to infectious diseases such as Covid-19. The functions of the PPE are threefold : protection of health workers, ensuring essential health care services continue and enhancement of preparedness and response. Omondi said something.