This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Kenya, health workers are at the forefront of the fight against the virus. However, they are facing a daunting challenge: accessing personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep themselves safe while treating patients.
According to Dr. Chibanzi Mwachonda, acting Secretary-General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, the Ministry of Health's efforts to prioritize the procurement of PPE for healthcare workers are commendable. However, the ministry's lack of transparency and accountability in distributing PPE has left many health workers in the dark.
As reported by the Daily Nation last week, a nurse in Meru was forced to wear improvised PPE made from a plastic garbage bag before attending to a patient suspected to be suffering from COVID-19. This incident highlights the dire situation faced by health workers, who are often unable to afford their own PPE due to delayed salaries and poor working conditions.
Dr. Mwachonda expressed concern about the proliferation of locally manufactured substandard PPE kits, which compromise the protection of health workers. He also questioned the Ministry of Health's lack of information on the distribution of PPE, despite a press conference held in April where Industrialisation and Trade CS Betty Maina announced the government's efforts to manufacture protective masks and PPE.
The Ministry of Health's cavalier attitude towards transparency and accountability is not surprising, given the country's culture of impunity. As one observer noted, corruption is so entrenched in Kenyan culture that not even a pandemic can wipe it off.
CS Kagwe's calls to
