This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
On June 26, the African Development Fund (ADF) approved a grant of Ksh 1 billion (USD 9.52 million) to support 12 countries in the Horn of Africa, including Kenya, in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grant is part of the USD 10 billion COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility (CRF) approved by the ADF Board of Directors in April 2020. This funding complements the Bank's direct support to regional member countries across the continent.
The funding will enable the beneficiary countries to procure essential medical supplies, including testing kits, and train health workers to strengthen their responses to the pandemic.
According to Martha Phiri, Director for Human and Social Development at ADF, the overall objective of the operation is to reduce the incidence and mortality in the Eastern African region due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other disease outbreaks.
Phiri noted that the funds will be used to bolster health systems and disease surveillance, enhance infection prevention and control, and improve regional coordination by the East African Community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to contain cross-border transmissions.
The EAC Secretariat will receive Ksh 931.7 million (USD 8.79 million) in tranches of Ksh 864.9 million (USD 8.16 million) and Ksh 77.3 million (USD 629,582), while Ksh 77.3 million (USD 729,581) will go to IGAD.
As of June 28, the total confirmed cases in the 11 mainland countries of the region stood at 42,000, while the island nation of Comoros had reported 265 cases out of its 800,000 population.
