This archive report was first published on 14 May 2020.
On May 13, 2020, Industrialisation Chief Administrative Secretary Lawrence Karanja announced that the government is verifying Covid-19 innovations to ensure they meet standards and are effective before they can be used.
Speaking at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Karanja stated that the Kenya Bureau of Standards will complete the verification exercise, after which the innovations will be recommended to the Medical Board for approval.
According to Karanja, the effectiveness of some equipment, especially ventilators, needs to meet all compliance standards and be certified effective before they can be put to use.
Already, six organizations, including Toyota Kenya, Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, and Dedan Kimanthi University, have devised medical ventilators.
The CAS also announced that the government is formulating a post-Covid-19 policy to source and protect local innovations, ensuring that they do not go to waste after the pandemic is eradicated.
“Once we establish that the ventilators are effective, we shall recommend their usage to health centres and dispensaries post Covid 19. This will provide the Level 4 and 3 hospitals with the opportunity to install ICU units to ease pressure on the Level five and Referral Hospitals,” said Karanja.
He added that the intellectual property rights for the innovators will be protected to ensure only they benefit from their innovations.
JKUAT had previously unveiled several innovations to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic, including two portable solar-powered prototype ventilators, a contact tracing application, a digital system that predicts Covid-19 infection trends in Kenya, and an automatic solar-powered hand-washing machine.
Victor Muthembwa, one of the innovators, expressed his desire to partner with the government to make the innovations usable and help in the fight against Covid-19.
