PRESS RELEASE: JUNE 29, 2020

The EU through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO) has donated KES 270 million (2,573,105 Million Euros) to WHO Kenya. This grant will be used by the WHO to support the Government of Kenya’s efforts to control the spread of the pandemic. Specifically, WHO Kenya will boost the response effort by training frontline health workers at national and county levels and strengthen the current work being done by the COVID-19 rapid response and clinical teams across all counties.

It will also be used to support risk communication and community engagement activities in areas that have been identified as hot spots across the counties. The strategies being used include airing of messages in local languages on 21 radio stations and other information platforms, engaging community leaders and the public in order to change individual behaviour, and building the capacity of health workers as they support the community response to the pandemic. Additional technical personnel will also be deployed to the counties to support these activities.

“The grant comes at a critical time when we are dealing with community transmission and need urgent response measures to stop further spread,” Dr Rudi Eggers, WHO Representative said.  Thanking the EU Ambassador to Kenya, Mr Simon Mordue, he said the ECHO funding would go a long way to support WHO interventions in the county and the implementation of guidelines at national and county levels. “It is critical that health workers in all health facilities across the country are knowledgeable about the various aspects of the Coronavirus so that they are able to protect themselves, their families and their patients as well,” Dr Eggers said.

 EU Ambassador Simon Mordue underlined the added value of the EU’s collaboration with the WHO in support of countries and communities at this challenging time: “The EU is partnering with the WHO at this critical moment as it is the international organisation best placed to provide advice and concrete support to the specific COVID-19 related circumstances facing Kenya, based on its in depth expertise. In this way the EU is helping to find the solutions that will stop this pandemic from spreading.”

This grant to Kenya is part of 30 Million Euros that the EU has provided to the World Health Organisation in response to its Global Appeal to combat  COVID-19 across the world. The European Union and the World Health Organisation are working in close collaboration to provide resources to countries that need support in managing the COVID19 pandemic.

The programme is part of an overall Team Europe response that has seen the EU and its Member States working closely to support Kenya during this crisis. The European Union is contributing over Ksh 35 billion to Kenya’s response to COVID-19 whilst EU Member States have already provided more than Ksh 3.3 billion (EUR 30 million). This collective support by Team Europe is a statement of Europe’s friendship and partnership with Kenya in these difficult global times.