This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
As Kenya struggles to contain the spread of Covid-19, the government must scale up its testing and contact tracing efforts to effectively combat the pandemic.
According to Dr. Andrew Gachii, the director of medical services at The Nairobi West Hospital, the country needs a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach to the Covid-19 response, mobilizing all available resources to keep health systems functioning.
Published on June 24, 2020, Dr. Gachii emphasized the need for a policy framework for Private Health Sector Engagement (PSE) to effectively engage the private health sector in the national response.
Mass testing, which involves the test-track-and-trace approach, can allow health officials to separate the infected from the healthy and stop the virus from spreading. However, in Kenya, mass testing has been hampered by a lack of testing kits and the biggest challenge has been contact tracing.
Dr. Gachii noted that contact tracing has not been feasible in identifying individuals who may have been infected with the virus and those whom they have been in touch with, which may have contributed to the rapid spread of the infections and fatalities.
A strong biomedical workforce must be on standby to provide broad testing in a bid to stop new patients from rekindling a widespread outbreak. This is through a new multifaceted strategy that leverages public-private partnerships.
The collaborative efforts will be coordinated by the national or county government and implemented by both entities until a vaccine is available.
