This archive report was first published on 14 May 2020.
As the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kenyan government is taking proactive steps to verify innovations devised to combat the virus. According to Industrialisation Chief Administrative Secretary Lawrence Karanja, the government is in the process of verifying these innovations to establish their compliance with standards and effectiveness before they can be put into use.
Speaking at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) on Wednesday, Karanja noted that the effectiveness of some equipment, especially ventilators, needs to meet all the compliance standards and be certified effective before they can be put to use. He mentioned that six organizations, including Toyota Kenya, Kenyatta University, JKUAT, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, and Dedan Kimanthi University, have already devised medical ventilators.
Once the Kenya Bureau of Standards completes the verification exercise, the innovations will be recommended to the Medical Board, which will establish if they can be put to use. Karanja also announced that the government is in the process of formulating a post-Covid-19 policy to source and protect local innovations.
“The idea is to put to use all the innovations and products manufactured during this period and apply them in other fields during the post-Covid period. It is a wake-up call, though a shame that it took Covid-19 for us to realise our potential as a country. Our innovators have proved that the country does not have to rely on products from other countries,” said Karanja.
He emphasized that the intellectual property rights for the innovators will be protected to ensure only they benefit from their innovations. Karanja was accompanied by the Principal Secretary Dr Francis Owino and JKUAT Vice-Chancellor Prof Victoria Ngumi.
