The Kenyan Government on Tuesday received a donation of USD 100,000 (Sh10m) from IGAD to help mitigate the effects of the coronavirus.
The financial contribution is part of the USD 700,000 volunteer pledges by the IGAD staff.
Director IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development Dr Solomon Munyua said staff members from all levels fulfilled the pledges as a means to signify their willingness to participate in the efforts aimed at protecting IGAD citizenry from the pandemic and show solidarity with the region.
He said the staff contribution was meant to support the countries acquire and distribute personal protective equipment and to support the brave doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers on the front-line of the Covid-19 battle.
According to Munyua, the contribution should be allocated to the most pressing and critical need of the vulnerable communities.
Munyua said the outbreak of the pandemic in the heels of the desert locusts' invasion and the just ended floods in the region have caused the biggest social economic and security challenge.
"Our member states are being forced to reorganise national budgets and dig deeper into the scarce national reserves to buy lifesaving medical supplies and equipment including ventilators, masks and sanitisers," he said.
Munyua said IGAD's Executive Secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu simultaneously handed over a cheque worth USD 100,000 to the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Djibouti.
He said the gesture in solidarity with the region will continue on Wednesday in all the other member state countries.
"Dr Workneh has consoled the ‘friends, family and relatives of those who have passed away, had a word of sympathy for the severely ill and the families of the worst affected while acknowledging staff members for their strong sense of individual responsibility and moral duty in the given circumstances," he said.
Foreign Affairs CS Raychelle Omamo and CAS Ababu Namwamba received the donation at the ministry's offices in Nairobi.
Namwamba who chairs the Standing Committee on Emergency Response (SCER) said so far Kenyan government is mobilising international support for Kenya's national anti-Covid-19 effort.
He said the country has so far received support from IGAD, China and UAE, and commitments from Japan, South Korea and India.
"On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through our Standing Committee on Emergency Response, I thank the IGAD Executive Secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu and all staff of IGAD for the Sh10 million received today by CS Raychelle Omamo and myself towards the anti-Covid-19 effort. IGAD is demonstrating real leadership for our region," he said.
He said the amount received is substantial, with most support coming in the form of materials and equipment like the state of the art laboratory offered by UAE.
The Africa region has reported 6,616 confirmed cases of the disease with 243 deaths.
On Tuesday, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe reported 14 new cases in the country bringing Kenya's total tally to 172.
Six people have so far died in the country with one in critical condition.
Acting Director General of Public Health Dr Patrick Amoth said out of all the confirmed cases, the youngest patient was two years while the oldest was 74 years.
He said Kenya has a fatality rate of two per cent which can be attributed to the mild infections being reported.
