The Garissa County Referral Hospital today received 4 ventilators from USAID to manage critical Covid-19 patients admitted at the health facility.
Receiving the donation at the hospital compound, Health CEC Ahmednadir Omar thanked USAID for what he termed as ‘timely and worthy donation’ from the American people.
Omar said the ventilators came at ‘the hour of need and when the county was grappling with challenges posed by the deadly pandemic’.
The CEC said the lifesaving machines will be put into good use as they shall be handled by specialists who have undergone necessary care training.
He urged other well-wishers to support the county health sector in the war against Covid-19 pandemic.
“We feel more committed and strengthened when we see more partners coming in to support us in the fight against Covid-19 and helping save lives,” Omar said.
On her part USAID representative Rosemary Njogu noted that the portable ventilators are easy to transport with patients referred to ICU and in ambulances buoyed by energy saving batteries that can last for 12 hours.
Njogu thanked Garissa county health department together with their staff for the commitment in handling patients affected by the pandemic.
“We really want thank the health workers for their commitment in the fight against this deadly virus,” Njogu said. “As USAID we shall continue to work closely with the health sector in the country as we all pull our resources towards this invisible enemy,” she added
Present during the brief ceremony were the hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Ambrose Misore, Director of family health Mohamed Haret, Director of Nutrition Abdi Sheikh Deputy Director Preventive and Promotive Health services Ibrahim Gedi and Ahmed Bashey who is in charge of the Covid-19 County programme.
By Jacob Songok
