This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has shown his commitment to supporting local innovations and products by ordering the purchase of 500 hospital beds from two young innovators in Githunguri, Kiambu county.
The beds, manufactured using locally assembled materials, will be delivered within a month and a half, following the President's personal intervention.
On Wednesday, the President's Delivery Unit (PDU) dispatched a team to Githunguri to assess the beds and confirm their viability for hospital use.
"I have been sent by His Excellency the President to congratulate the young innovators and to confirm the government's commitment to supporting local innovations and products by providing a market for our own under the Buy-Kenya-Build-Kenya policy," said PDU Secretary Andrew Wakahiu.
The locally manufactured bed features standard hospital design, including a reclining frame, height adjuster, and retractable serving extension, as well as a portable gas cylinder and drip stand.
The purchase of the beds will be a vital boost to public hospitals currently reeling under the strain of COVID-19 admissions, with many hospitals already running out of beds.
