This archive report was first published on 20 July 2020.
The United Nations in Africa has taken proactive measures to protect its staff and their loved ones from the Covid-19 pandemic. In a recent development, the UN has partnered with the Nairobi Hospital to establish a 160-bed Covid-19 treatment facility.
Located at the old nursing school opposite the main hospital, the facility is expected to be complete in five to eight weeks. The UN had been searching for a facility with a 100-bed capacity that could cater exclusively to Covid-19 victims.
According to Nairobi Hospital Chief Executive Officer Allan Pamba, the facility will have an operating theatre, laboratory, radiology, and physiology services, as well as an initial bed-capacity of 150, including 25 intensive-care and 50 high-dependency units.
Construction of the facility is set to begin on July 20, with an expected opening in six to eight weeks. The facility will cater to mild, moderate, and high-risk cases, primarily depending on severity, and will only care for Covid-19 victims, removing the need for surgical capabilities.
Currently, the UN has set aside 100 beds at a city hotel for UN staff who may require isolation. The care for UN staff has been critical to the organization, and in June, it published a detailed medical evacuation protocol.
Those eligible for evacuations include foreign and local staff of the UN and their dependents, military and police personnel, dependents deployed by the UN, and troops in the African Union Mission to Somalia. The facility may also be open to non-UN Covid-19 victims, and it is expected to remain as a special medical evacuation centre for UN staff in Africa post-Covid-19.
