Marsabit county government has set aside Sh240 million and is also partnering with local non-state actors towards the fight against covid19 pandemic.
Governor Mohamud Ali said Sh60million would be used in procuring drugs and equipping health facilities as well as providing medical personnel with the necessary protective gear, in case the novel virus found its way into the county.
The items to be bought include portable oxygen and cylinders, vaccine carriers, PPEs, ventilators and thermos guns among others, in addition to establishment of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU).
“These steps would enable Marsabit county referral hospital to cope with any situation that might crop up,” said the governor, when he led the County covid-19 emergency response coordination committee in receiving an assortment of donations from various stakeholders.
The donations by National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), Pastoralist Community Initiative Development and Assistance (PACIDA), Food for the Hungry, AMREF and the Kenya Red Cross society among other donors included sanitizers, facemasks, water dispensers, medical kits, drugs and six vehicles for public awareness creation at the villages.
The governor further appealed to the residents to follow guidelines given by the Ministry of Health, including wearing face masks, washing hands regularly and maintaining physical distance at public places so as to protect themselves against the virus.
The remaining Sh180 million will be used to provide water and relief food to residents who can’t afford the essential basics due to vagaries caused by coronavirus in the county.
The programme and Partnership director for PACIDA, a local non-governmental organization Wario Guyo said the vehicles that would be mounted with loud speakers were expected to traverse the remotest parts of the county passing useful information about the pandemic.
Wario observed that not every residents could get information on the Coronavirus via the portable radio or mobile phones, hence the need to seal the gap for the sake of those with no access to the media.
The awareness campaign on the deadly virus would purely be in local dialects among the targeted communities as well as in Kiswahili in order to make it more effective, he added.
Meanwhile, the County commissioner Evans Achoki has called on residents of Moyale Sub County to be more vigilant and report any unauthorized entry into the region from the neighbouring Ethiopia and also nearby counties.
By Sebastian Miriti
Measures to stem covid-19 stepped up
