• Korea International Cooperation Agency will support Kiambu, Vihiga and Nandi counties with an emergency fund of $200, 000 (Sh20 million).
• KOICA Alumni Kenya Chapter will donate digital thermostats to local hospitals in Kiambu, Vihiga and Nandi counties, while Good Neighbours, a Korean NGO, will give masks and sanitisers worth Sh15 million.
The Korean government is the latest to give aid to Kenya in the war against Covid-19, amidst claims of misappropriation of donations.
In collaboration with relevant agencies and private sectors, the Korea International Cooperation Agency will support Kiambu, Vihiga and Nandi counties with an emergency fund of $200, 000 (Sh20 million).
This is set to help in the upgrading of the facility and provision of medical equipment.
KOICA Alumni Kenya Chapter will donate digital thermostats to local hospitals in Kiambu, Vihiga and Nandi counties, while Good Neighbours, a Korean NGO, will give masks and sanitisers worth Sh15 million.
In addition, they will also donate Covid-19 test kits made by Korean medical company Bioneer.
“Korean government through the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the World Food Pogramme (WFP) has donated 10,000 metric tonnes of Korean rice to Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps,” a dispatch by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“The rice consignment will arrive in the country towards the end of June, 2020. All the other support items will be in the country at the earliest possible date,” the communication added on Monday.
This is even as President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 1 and the Ministry of Health dismissed reports that Covid-19 emergency funds had been misappropriated.
He said the expenditures would be audited "to the last cent".
KENYA-KOREA RELATIONS
Additionally, Covid-19 appears to have presented a new opportunity for cooperation between South Korea and Africa, and in particular Kenya.
South Korea has been praised for its response to curb the spread of coronavirus through testing and contact tracing, which contained the transmission.
Ambassador Choi Yeonghan told K24 Punchline that key to South Korea's strategy is tracing contacts, testing and treating those infected in an interview on April 5.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is quoted by the World Economic Forum saying being open with people and securing their trust is vitally important.
“The key to our success has been absolute transparency with the public – sharing every detail of how this virus is evolving, how it is spreading and what the government is doing about it, warts and all,” Kan said.
“Testing is absolutely critical with a fast-travelling virus like this,” Kang told the World Economic Forum.
“We have tested over 350,000 cases so far – some patients are tested many times before they are released, so we can say they are fully cured. Altogether, we’re talking about one out of 145 or one out of 150 people having been tested so far.”
Having flattened the curve, South Korea has started partnering with African states in the war on Covid-19.
The first instance of this cooperation between South Korea and Africa was in the virtual G-20 Extra-Ordinary Leader Summit on March 26 to discuss global responses to the pandemic.
South Korea President Moon Jae-in said he expects support to Africa “will be addressed intensively in the process of taking follow-up measures to the G-20 joint statement.
Among the leaders he spoke to in Africa include Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy, Senegalese President Macky Sall and his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara.
In intensifying ties with Kenya, Korea Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon was is in the country for a two-day official visit in July 2018.
It followed another two-day visit by former South Korean President Park Geun-Hye in May 2016, in which several bilateral pacts towards the improvement of health, education, energy, ICT and industrialisation sectors were signed.