This archive report was first published on 29 June 2021.
Published on June 29, 2021, the World Bank has approved an additional Sh14 billion to support Kenya's COVID-19 response efforts.
The funds will facilitate affordable and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines in the country, enabling the government to expand access to more Kenyans free of cost.
According to World Bank Director for Kenya Keith Hansen, the additional financing is timely and comes at a critical moment in the government's efforts to contain the rising cases of the virus.
"The upfront financing for the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines will enable the government to expand access to more Kenyans free of cost," Hansen stated.
The additional financing will also enable Kenya to procure more vaccines via the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) initiative and the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facilities.
Furthermore, the funds will support the deployment of vaccines by boosting Kenya's cold chain storage capacity, including establishing 25 county vaccine stores, strengthening the capacity of 36 sub-county stores, and equipping 1,177 health facilities with vaccine storage equipment.
Other activities that will be funded include vaccine safety surveillance, training for health workers, advocacy, and communication to encourage COVID vaccine intake among Kenyans.
This is the second additional financing for the Kenya COVID-19 Health Emergency Response Project, following Sh10 billion approved under the Contingency Emergency Response Component of the Transforming Health Systems for Universal Care Project.
So far, the World Bank has contributed Sh26.5 billion to Kenya's COVID-19 response.
As of June 29, 2021, Kenya had recorded 183,603 cases with 3,621 fatalities and 125,388 recoveries.
