Russian government has donated Sh109 million to three Lake Region counties of Busia, Kisumu and Migori to help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The project which is set to take two years is part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Russia global response effort towards Covid-19 and is aimed at boosting the flexibility of health systems in response to the pandemic.
UNDP Kenya Project Officer, Raphael Mutitu, who spoke on Wednesday during a courtesy call to the Busia County Health and Sanitation Chief Officer Isaac Omeri, disclosed that the project will comprise of three output areas.
“The first output will be on improved capacity of the healthcare system for response to the pandemic while the second will focus on reduced socio-economic impact of the pandemic for vulnerable and marginalised community members,” Mutitu said.
Mutitu stated that the third output will be on increased adoption of innovative technologies for response and mitigation of the impact of the pandemic. UNDP Kenya Programme Officer Washington Ayiemba said apart from UNDP focusing on development and the impact of issues affecting people’s lives, their main area of emphasis is on healthcare and waste management because of the environment and its impact on the people.
Omeri hailed the Russian government for the donation saying the county government is committed towards ensuring that the project is fully implemented for the benefit of residents.
He said: “I acknowledge that we are very much receptive to this new project that has a lot of resources dedicated to us. As Busia County, we really appreciate the kind gesture and are looking forward to working closely to ensure the project is implemented accordingly.”
Omeri revealed that the microwave (sterile wave machine) received through UNDP has been a relief to the county in terms of the management of healthcare waste.
Also present during the courtesy call included Susan Mutua a Public Health Director in the Ministry of Health, Busia County Director for Preventive and Promotive Health Services Melisa Lutomia and Gamaliel Omondi a Public Health Officer in the Ministry of Health.
By Melechezedeck Ejakait
