The Ministry of Health on Wednesday received over 20,000 Covid-19 testing kits at the Kemri headquarters in Nairobi to boost Kenya’s Covid-19 response.
The kits are estimated at Sh44 million.
While receiving the donation, Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache thanked The Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi and the German Government, saying it would go a long way in curbing the pandemic.
“With Kenya already on its third wave of Covid-19, the demand for testing has been greatly driven due to the increased number of positive cases over the last few weeks. This help, therefore, couldn’t have come at a more opportune time,” she said.
AKUH interim chief executive officer Rashid Khalani said the hospital will be able to accommodate those in need of urgent ICU facilities and ventilators.
She thanked Kemri for doing research and identifying the new Covid-19 variants and also for being a centre for testing and vaccination.
“I urge the health facilities not to hold on to the vaccination as the government shall do its very best to ensure the second dose is available by late May or June 2021,” she said.
Susan said not only was it a government responsibility but also an individual’s responsibility to curb the spread of the virus through vaccination and following the measures that have been put in place to curb the spread.
Those that were already vaccinated were urged to continue taking precaution as they await the second dose.
With most of the testing being done in private institutions, Khalani said the partnership between the Private sector and the Ministry of Health was crucial in such times as they can sufficiently battle this pandemic and in future improve Kenya’s healthcare system.
