Men weak link in Covid-19 fight, says Wa Iria

Most men downplay the gravity of Covid-19 despite many Kenyans losing their lives to the disease, Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria has said. 

Wa Iria praised women for taking the lead in adhering to handwashing, social distancing, sanitising and other protocols to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Kenya had reported 13,771 Covid-19 cases on Monday, with the majority of those being men.

The governor asked the national government to ramp up public information and awareness drives to stem the surge of new infection.

“The only rule that Kenyans observe is avoiding handshakes. We have to rethink how to handle these challenges through intensive mass education,” Wa Iria said. 

It is easier and cheaper to sensitise Kenyans to take precaution than treat them when they fall sick, he said. 

“People are dying. Just recently, we lost someone from Gatanga at Thika Level 5 Hospital to Covid-19,” Wa Iria said.

The county has reported 23 cases. Fifteen have recovered while the remaining patients are under home-based care.

Wa Iria spoke at Murang’a Level 5 Hospital when he received personal protective equipment from Equity Group Foundation and the Covid-19 Fund.

He said the county is well prepared to manage a surge in patient numbers. Murang’a Level 5 Hospital has an ICU centre that can serve 35 patients at a time. It has 35 beds and 18 ventilators, the governor said. 

Wa Iria appealed for support from the Equity Group Foundation to buy the remaining 17 machines for each of the ICU beds.

The county will open an orthopaedic hospital at Kirwara Health Centre next month while a cancer centre at the referral hospital will be opened in December.

The cancer centre will cost about Sh2 billion to be fully equipped and the governor appealed to Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi to support their fundraising efforts.  

The county government has also allocated 10 acres of land near Kenol town to relocate the Kenneth Matiba Eye and Dental Hospital and upgrade it to level six.  

Mwangi praised the county government for investing in specialised healthcare that caters to the needs of locals.

“Creating centres of excellence in the health sector will transform the county and create wealth for locals as they will serve the region and consume locally sourced food,” he said.

Mwangi said that the foundation has set aside Sh1.1 billion to fight Covid-19 in the country, mainly through the provision of PPE to medics.

He said one doctor serves about 200 patients in the country per day, exposing them to a high risk of infection.

Mwangi appealed to the clergy to use their churches to sensitise faithful on the need to protect themselves and their loved ones.

“We have seen countries where the rate of mortality is too high especially the US which has lost over 139,000 patients. We cannot take chances,” he said.

The central region, he noted, is more vulnerable to the high rate of pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.

The pandemic was a turning point for many African countries whose leaders travel abroad for medical care, he said. 

“Now it does not matter who you are or your wealth because no foreign country will have you.  If we go down, we all go down together,” he added.

Equity Bank chairman Isaac Macharia said the financier has been using courier services to distribute PPE to all parts of the country.

He said the bank has used Sh85 million to train health workers on how to use the PPE and offer them psycho-social support.

“The PPE is only useful if it is properly utilised. Each facility that is handling Covid-19 patients is receiving its set of PPE individually and they will be replenished,” he said.

(edited by o. owino)