President Uhuru Kenyatta has feted top medical regulator Daniel Yumbya, for the role played in controlling the Covid-19 outbreak since last year.
Yumbya led the national command centre for quarantine and isolation, which helped raise isolation beds from eleven in March last year to more than 7,000.
The centre, working with public and private facilities had, by end of last year, approved more than 200,000 quarantine beds to help those exposed to the disease.
Isolation and quarantine are key in stopping the spread of infectious diseases, especially in absence of vaccination.
Yumbya, who is the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council chief executive, was last Friday awarded the Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear.
EBS is the second-highest category of presidential awards conferred to individuals in recognition of their service to the nation.
The awards are confirmed in the current issue of the Kenya Gazette.
Yumbya thanked President Uhuru for the recognition.
“We thank the President for recognising especially the role we played during the height of the pandemic,” he said.
“The council was declared the national command centre for quarantine and isolation. We led the issue of monitoring quarantine and isolation facilities and the ICU facilities. We operated on 24 hours.”
The council is leading vaccine deployment by approving the vaccination centres.
The newly-released 2021 Global Health Security Index now shows Kenya is the third-best prepared in Africa to face another pandemic.
The best-prepared countries are South Africa and Mauritius.
The index was released by the Nuclear Threat Initiative and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, with research by Economist Impact.
Kenya’s presidential awards and honours are usually given on the advice of the National Honours and Awards Committee in the Office of the President.
According to the National Honours Act, those who merit the decoration include a person who exhibits exemplary qualities, or achievements of heroism, patriotism or leadership, one who has made an exemplary contribution to the country in the economic, scientific, academic, sports, journalism, business, security or other fields.
Others to be considered are a State officer or public officer who has made an exemplary contribution to the betterment of the national or county governments, the executive, the judiciary, the legislature and a person who has otherwise brought honour, glory or pride to the nation.
President Uhuru also awarded the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart honours to Chief Justice Martha Koome, Nairobi Governor Ann Kananu, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia, among others.
Other recipients of the EGH are Environment CS Keriako Tobiko, Prof. Olive Mugenda, Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony and Retired Major-General Philip Wachira Kameru of the National Intelligence Service.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
