By Roseleen Nzioka
Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya’s frontline health workers are to benefit from a targeted training on Covid-19 response efforts in the national and country levels after a Ksh 270 million boost to the World Health Organisation-Kenya by the European Union.
Announcing the partnership on Monday 29 June, Dr. Rudi Eggers, WHO Representative Kenya, said, “The grant comes at a critical time when we are dealing with community transmission and need urgent response measures to stop further spread.”
The EU through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO) said that the grant would be used by the WHO to support the Government of Kenya’s efforts to control the spread of the pandemic.
Specifically, WHO Kenya will boost the response effort by training frontline health workers at national and county levels and strengthen the current work being done by the COVID-19 rapid response and clinical teams across all counties.
Part of the communications strategy for this response includes the engagement of 21 radio stations who will air targeted messages in the local languages as well as the use of other information platforms with the aim to change individual behavior.
The money will also be used to support risk communication and community engagement activities in areas that have been identified as hot spots across the counties. Additional technical personnel will also be deployed to the counties to support these activities, says WHO.
Thanking the EU Ambassador to Kenya, Mr. Simon Mordue, Dr. Eggers said the ECHO funding would go a long way to support WHO interventions in the county and the implementation of guidelines at national and county levels.
“It is critical that health workers in all health facilities across the country are knowledgeable about the various aspects of the Coronavirus so that they are able to protect themselves, their families, and their patients as well,” Dr. Eggers said.
EU Ambassador Simon Mordue underlined the added value of the EU’s collaboration with the WHO in support of countries and communities at this challenging time: “The EU is partnering with the WHO at this critical moment as it is the international organization best placed to provide advice and concrete support to the specific COVID-19 related circumstances facing Kenya, based on its in-depth expertise. In this way, the EU is helping to find the solutions that will stop this pandemic from spreading.”
The EU donation comes closely on the heels of the recent call by the National government to the 47 counties to put in place measures to ensure that counties can handle an expected surge in infections as the government mulls a partial reopening of the economy next month.
This grant to Kenya is part of 30 Million Euros that the EU has provided to the World Health Organization in response to its Global Appeal to combat COVID-19 across the world. The European Union and the World Health Organization are working in close collaboration to provide resources to countries that need support in managing the COVID19 pandemic.
The Ksh270million is in addition to the over Ksh 35 billion to Kenya’s response to COVID-19, whilst EU Member States have already provided more than Ksh 3.3 billion (EUR 30 million) to Kenya’s Covid-19 response.
