This archive report was first published on 29 April 2021.
On April 29, 2021, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe toured Revital Healthcare Limited in Kilifi, where he received over 100,000 boxes of free masks and 10,000 free Covid-19 testing kits from the health manufacturing company.
Revital Healthcare Limited has provided over 5,000 jobs to locals, and Kagwe emphasized the importance of supporting local manufacturing projects. He appealed to the legislature to expedite the proposals made through the Health Amendment Bill 2020.
According to Kagwe, the government is spearheading a multi-stakeholder initiative to explore mechanisms to support local manufacturing of all medical commodities. The initiative aims to reduce production costs and make Kenya a strategic position in the region to become a manufacturing powerhouse for medical commodities.
Kenya's Health CS Mutahi Kagwe also urged local manufacturers to take advantage of the demand in the country and the region to grow their business and contribute to job creation. He emphasized the need for impactful partnerships between the government and private players to support the development of local industries.
During his tour, Kagwe also addressed the changes at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) board of directors, stating that the move was meant to generate new ideas into management and allow effective operations of such vital health institutions in the country.
He also provided an update on the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that 495 people had tested positive in the last 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 10 percent. The total number of positive cases stood at 158,821, and cumulative tests conducted were 1,664,435.
