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Kenya and the East African community have received a grant of Sh1billion to strengthen the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
The grant channelled to the Aga Khan University Hospital, and the Aga Khan Health Services, East Africa, from the German Government will also support the public health system.
The grant offered by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank (KfW), will enable AKUH, and the Aga Khan Hospitals in Kisumu, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam to increase access to Covid-19 vaccination through mobile vaccination drives and donations of relevant vaccine infrastructure to the public health system.
"The German Government has committed additional funds to its Partners to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. KfW has a longstanding partnership with the Aga Khan University in East Africa. We are therefore delighted that, thanks to this cooperation, we will jointly facilitate this project to expand access to the vaccines in the region," said Jens Bessai, the Head of Division, KfW Development Bank.
The grant will also support training for health, media, and communication professionals in the region.
"Throughout the pandemic, we have partnered with the governments of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in various ways and this grant will ensure that we can increase our support to the people of East Africa," said Dr Sulaiman Shahabuddin, President and Vice-Chancellor Aga Khan University.
Provision of the grants is offered at a time African states are racing toward attaining herd immunity.
In Kenya, only 34 per cent of adults have fully been vaccinated, even as the Government plans to vaccinate a target population of 27 million people.
"This partnership speaks to our values of impact and access and we are, therefore, extremely grateful to the German government for working with us to live these values as we serve humanity."
The support is the second grant offered to the facilities, in support of the Covid-19 response. In 2020, the hospitals received Sh720million for the purchase and distribution to the public health system of Personal Protective Equipment and testing kits.
The money also catered for the cost of care to covid patients who could not afford to pay as well as enhanced critical care infrastructure in the Aga Khan Hospitals.
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