The Kenya Covid-19 Fund Board has flagged off the first consignment of locally manufactured personal protective equipment (PPE) to public hospitals in Kenya in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Equity Group Foundation (EGF). The board through its health and procurement committees is coordinating the sourcing, quality assurance and distribution of PPE for frontline health care workers at designated Covid-19 management hospitals.
Mrs. Jane Karuku, the chairperson of the Covid-19 Fund Board said that the board in collaboration with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and EGF had identified an opportunity for local manufacturers to create a regional logistics supply chain for PPE which could serve Kenya and its neighbours with a consistent supply of high quality medical products. “With the global supply chain at risk due to the crisis, there is impetus to leverage and develop local manufacturing capacity for PPE production by considering all aspects of the supply chains, in order to meet both immediate needs of the crisis, as well as long-term demand in the foreseeable future,” she stated.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony, Dr. James Mwangi, the Chief Executive Officer of Equity Bank Group and who chairs the health committee of the Covid-19 Fund Board said: “By coming together to provide PPE, this initiative has allowed for economies of scale, proper identification of the national priorities for PPE and guarantees efficient and effective coordination while eliminating duplication of efforts in the provision of PPE for public health care workers in the country.”
The first consignment valued at Kshs. 237, 218,300 includes 100,250 disposable gowns, 550,000 surgical masks, 54,000 N95 respirator masks, 5,400 protective goggles, 1,000,000 nitrile gloves, 5,400 face shields, 54,000 head covers, 45,000 disposable medical scrubs, 45,000 shoe covers and 1,000 gumboots.
To guarantee timely and secure delivery of the PPE across the country, the committee has partnered with Fargo Courier, an independent logistics service provider, to provide a consolidated logistics solution with end-to-end visibility, from the receipt of PPE in warehouses to the execution of last mile delivery to the hospitals, thus ensuring effective controls and complete transparency.
